Vengeful
by Milon3
Summary: AU. Sasuke Uchiha is a fugitive prince, seeking revenge on his brother. Naruto Uzumaki is an orphan running from mysterious masked figures. How will they be able to help each other? [Eventually SasuNaru]
1. Chapter 1

I know a terrible summary right? Anyway, this AU fic is set in what I guess is a feudal era, so no modern stuff. Although I use _Naruto_ names and characters, this is entirely a different universe, and there are no ninja! Maybe some sort of magic shrug. Although I do want to stay with vaguely Japanese culture, I know little about it so sorry in advance for any mistakes with that. Anyway, hope you enjoy, this is my first ever fic, please review, and be nice lol. (Critical reviews will help me though heh)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Naruto

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As the sun retreated, shadows growing long over the tall stones around, a single figure sat, a young man, eyes fixed forward, distant. Wild blond hair shadowed his eyes, and three whisker-like scars adorned both of his cheeks. The increasing cold made him shiver involuntarily, and wrap his arms around himself, but he didn't move from where he sat. He hadn't noticed the darkening around him, the coming of the night.

He didn't know how he had come to be in the cemetery. The last thing he remembered was that he was walking home for lunch. But here he was, alone in front of a familiar grave. He shivered again, but not from the cold. Although his eyes were too blurry to make out the writing on the gravestone, he knew every word on it, every mark. Drops of water trickled down his face – rain, he told himself, it had to be rain. He couldn't be crying like a little child. He couldn't be that weak.

He blinked away the irritating rainwater that had been collecting in the bottom of his eyes and spilling onto his cheeks, and glanced away from the gravestone, suddenly realising that he couldn't see anything around him, and he cursed silently. His mind told him sternly that his guardian would be worried, and shout at him, but he decided it didn't matter. He couldn't go home with the feeling he had now, the feeling of emptiness and loss.

A year ago he would have ran back home, the awful feeling causing tears to fall freely. His guardian would comfort him, hold him, and repeat softly the all too familiar words. 'It's okay, Naruto, to feel like this.' Then further reassurance; 'It's not your fault. None of it is your fault.' He liked them, the comforting words, familiar words – empty words. His mind protested against them, telling him that the words were false and meaningless, and he couldn't help but agree if he thought about it. But it hurt, and pulled him into depression.

His logical response to this was to ignore those thoughts, something that he'd perfected through years of being an outcast. He could push unwanted thoughts away, hiding any inner turmoil behind a practiced grin. Ignorance paid off, helping him cope with everything that hurt him. The loneliness, the hateful looks from the people of the village, the loudly whispered comments in the streets.

"Naruto?" Startled out of his reverie, he spun round at the familiar voice. Through blurry eyes he could make out in the darkness a head of pink hair, and soft green eyes. He blinked quickly to clear his vision, and offered a wide smile at the person who had joined him.

"Hi, Sakura!" He greeted, forcing his voice to remain steady. "What brings you here?"

"I went to your house to see you at lunch, but Iruka told me you hadn't come home yet." She replied, and gave him a small smile. "I figured you'd be either here or the ramen stand." He grinned back at her and scratched the back of his head, out of habit.

"Right, I was heading back but …" He stumbled over his words slightly, his eyes flicking to the gravestone. She caught the glance, and put a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

"We should get back, Iruka is probably worried out of his mind." Naruto looked up at her again, and chuckled, slowly standing up.

"Yeah, he's probably gonna lock me in my room for week." He smiled at the thought of his guardian, who worried about him like a mother. Naruto didn't mind though; Iruka was the closest he had to actual family, being the only one willing to take care of him when his parents had died. He considered his stern but kind guardian the most important person in his life, and the person who saved him from going insane with the shock of that incident.

As this thought of the 'incident' came, he quickly shook his head and pushed it away, turning his attention to the girl walking beside him, who was chattering happily about how lucky he was to have someone as caring and considerate as Iruka. He smiled back at her, nodding to what she was saying without paying much attention. Although he could have taken offence to the fact that she, with a secure and happy family, was calling him lucky, he knew she was only trying to make him feel better.

After a while, she had apparently ran out of things to say, and settled with smiling at him and occasionally commenting on how different the village looked at night. Naruto agreed, and looked around at the dark buildings they were passing warily. The village was unusually silent and empty however, which was fortunate; the villagers were less than friendly towards him. Again he shook his head and pushed the thoughts away. He grinned widely at Sakura when she gave him an odd look, but she didn't comment on his unusual behaviour or uncharacteristic silence.

As they neared their destination, he noted that there were people about, but they were out of the light of the few street torches, and he could barely make out the forms watching the pair from the shadows. Unconsciously he moved closer to Sakura, who was also uncertain. Neither of them minded when Sakura took his hand to reassure both of them.

When they finally came to the house, they stopped at the door and Naruto sighed in relief that the journey through the dark was over – not that he was scared. He turned to Sakura with a grin.

"Well I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow!" She nodded, smiling at the return of the blond's cheerful manner. "So, how about a goodnight kiss?" Her smile faltered, and she put on a mock-annoyed face while resting her hands on her hips. They both laughed at the familiar routine. He leaned forward to hug her and she grinned and put her arms around him. But as she rested her hands on his back, she felt him stiffen. She pulled away to see what was wrong. Naruto was staring at something behind her, and she followed his gaze to a window on the side of the house, before stiffening also.

The window was broken, shards of glass lying around it and reflecting the moonlight. She turned back to Naruto, whose cerulean blue eyes were wide, the earlier brightness gone.

He immediately thought of the most likely cause of the broken window, that being the villagers. It was not uncommon that they would harass Iruka in an attempt to get to Naruto, and they had attacked the house before, throwing rocks and other heavy objects. But what worried him more was the fact that although there were no villagers around that he could see, Iruka had not come out to clean up broken glass. His heart pounded painfully in his chest at the thought that Iruka could have been hurt. Hurt because of _him._

Forcing himself out of his shock, he fumbled to open the door, and stumbled inside, looking around frantically.

"Iruka!" he shouted urgently. He waited, but the shout was met with silence. Shaking, he ran through the hall towards the living room, Sakura following silently. He pulled open the door and ran inside, but froze at what he saw.

Before him stood three masked figures, armed with swords that he recognised as katanas. They assessed him carefully through eye slits. Behind them stood at least a dozen of the villagers, unarmed but with clenched fists, looking at Naruto with cold and hostile eyes. He heard Sakura gasp behind him, but his eyes were fixed on the figures. His expression of horror slowly formed into an expression of anger.

"Where is Iruka!" He demanded, surprising the gathered crowd with his boldness. One of the masked figures tilted their head slightly, as if wondering what he meant, before snorting.

"If you mean the man who was trying to stop us … he's taken care of." Naruto felt his heart clench. Taken care of? What did that mean? It could mean he was captured or maybe …

"Where is he!" He snarled at the masked man who had spoken, forgetting any fear he had as he glared threateningly. The man was slightly taken aback, but then laughed coldly. There was a tense silence, before one of the villagers, a middle-aged man, spoke up.

"Enough with the talking! Kill the demon!" The hate-filled voice made Naruto cringe, and the words cut into him. His left hand rose quickly to touch the scars on his cheek. The masked man turned sharply to the one who had spoken and glared.

"We are here to capture it, not kill it." The villagers let out a cry of protest at the statement.

"It's a danger to the world!" An old woman hissed at the masked man. "It deserves to die now!" There was a murmur of agreement from the villagers, but it was cut off with a gesture from one of the other masked figures.

"Our orders are to take it back alive," she growled at the offending old woman, "so unless you want to get in our way, I suggest you be silent." The old woman paled in fear, and shrunk away to the back of the crowd. Everyone turned back to the subject of the discussion, who was standing in the doorway, his eyes wide in fear and realisation. But as one of masked figures stepped forward, his face returned to a snarl. Anger consumed him, and his vision began to turn red as he glared at the three alert figures.

"You will tell me where he is!" The shouted order was followed by gasps from the assembled villagers. The blond's voice was now different, deep and resounding, and filled with such ferociousness that it made many step back, trembling. Still in shock from what had happened, Sakura turned to look at Naruto, who had taken a stance of an animal ready to pounce. She let out a frightened squeal that joined those of the villagers as she saw that his eyes, before a brilliant blue, were now blood red and almost murderous.

The three masked figures quickly regained their composure, and readied their own weapons towards Naruto, but then stumbled back uncertainly, and it was obvious as to why. He was now surrounded by swirling, red-orange flames, which were not so much real fire as a powerful energy surrounding him.

Sakura, who was previously frozen with fear, now backed away, screaming. Although she had known Naruto was different, she wasn't expecting her best friend to turn into a flaming demon! As he leaped towards the shaking masked figures, newly grown claws gleaming, her mind decided it was too much to handle, and she fainted in the hallway.

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Naruto woke up with a dull pain at the top of his left arm, and he frowned as he touched it tentatively. As he shifted, he suddenly realised that he was not in a bed. There was cold wood beneath him, and his leg was draped over what felt like another person. Even more disturbingly, he was not only fully clothed but also soaked through.

He groaned and half opened his eyes to find where he was. He found himself looking at the door of his living room. He tried to move his head, wondering what he was doing in the living room. But as he surveyed the room, he frowned, and closed his eyes again. He sighed, and willed himself to wake up, deciding silently that he would keep this strange dream to himself, not wanting to appear crazier than people thought.

After a good five minutes of this, his frown deepened. Was there some trick to waking oneself up? He then nodded to himself and sighed again, moving to pinch his left arm. He let out a yelp of pain as his fingers rubbed against broken skin, and sat up sharply by reflex.

This time, he got a much clearer view of the room, and he shuddered in horror. The whole room was littered with bloody and barely recognisable corpses, the bodies and the furniture covered with deep claw marks. As his eyes fell on three particularly torn corpses, the black clothing and remains of masks gave him a flash of memory. He was unable to move as his mind put together scrambled images of what had happened.

When the memory in his mind was finally whole, he watched it through as if it were happening all over again. He saw that he was angry, furious, at the ones who had taken Iruka, the ones who were preparing to take him. His first instinct was to run, of course, his training in combat was basic, and he stood little chance against three armed swordsmen. But his anger took over, and he couldn't think of anything else.

Then, something unexpected had happened. Naruto knew that he, somehow, had a demon inside of him, but only once before had he _felt_ the demon. The first time had been when his parents had died, when the pain of loss overwhelmed him, but nothing had happened, it had just scared away the villagers, and he had been grateful.

But this time was different. This time he had lost control. It wasn't him pouncing, teeth and claws bared, at the people in the room. He was there, of course, watching from inside his body, but he had no control, as if watching through someone else's eyes.

The images of the scene flashed through his mind, and he felt emotions and feelings threatening to overwhelm him. Not wanting to see it, he clutched his head, and screamed, seeing the blood everywhere, the cries of the dying villagers trying desperately to escape, and the feeling that their pain gave him. The villagers who hated him, tried to hurt him, destroyed his life. The mysterious masked people who took away the person most important to him and tried to capture him.

Killing them felt good. The feeling as he had sliced mercilessly through the terrified people was exhilarating, their screams giving him an incredible feeling of happiness and satisfaction. Nothing else had mattered. Had he … really felt that? Is that what he wanted? He closed his eyes tightly. Of course it wasn't what he wanted. It wasn't right, he didn't like it; it was the demon – the demon that had managed to destroy his life without even doing anything. The demon had killed all these people.

He fought a wave of nausea, and tried desperately to put everything together in his head, to maintain order in the swirling thoughts and emotions. But he was fighting a losing battle, he couldn't think, he couldn't move, and he couldn't breathe.

"Na-Naruto …" His mind froze, the voice pulling him back into reality. He looked up to see Sakura, on her knees at door of the living room, and glazed eyes looking towards him.

"Sakura!" Suddenly, all the turmoil had disappeared, and he focused on the pink-haired girl who was staring blankly at him. He crawled towards her, avoiding corpses, and placed a hand on her arm. She gazed into the now blue eyes of the blood-soaked blond, and slowly brought her hands up, her fingers tracing the whisker-like scars on his cheeks.

They both sat staring at each other for what seemed like hours. Finally, Sakura's confused mind kicked in, giving her full comprehension of the situation. The first thought being simply, 'What now?' Her mind began to almost mechanically work to put forward a solution.

Of course, staying in the village after slaughtering 15 people was not a preferable option for Naruto, and if she was alive after being seen entering the house with him, probably not for her either. So logically, she thought, we will not stay in the village. Next was the issue of where to go.

This was a slightly harder question. If rumours spread all across the country of the demon boy, Naruto wouldn't be safe with his obvious whisker marks. It would be hard to lay low, especially after this. Staying in the Land of Thunder would be too big a risk. The Land of Fire was an obvious choice of destination; it tolerated all types of people, and was big enough that you wouldn't be found it you didn't want to be. So, she thought, we should head for there as soon as possible.

The third problem was that of Naruto. She thought briefly back to the red eyes and mysterious energy, and shivered. But this was the normal Naruto in front of her … that problem could be addressed later. Nodding to herself, she decided to explain her decisions to said blond.

Of course, this was easier said than done. She almost laughed at the situation they were in. She was involved in the slaughter of a dozen villagers, and was about to flee the country with a killer demon.

"Naruto …" he looked up at her questioningly. "We have to leave – now." He stared at her for a few moments while processing this.

"But … Iruka …" He whispered. Sakura cursed to herself about not thinking of him.

"If Iruka is actually …" She paused, not wanting to mention that Iruka was probably dead. "We won't be able to find Iruka if we go to jail." Naruto nodded slowly in agreement.

"Okay." He whispered. She looked away, not wanting to see the sadness in the normally cheerful blue eyes. Sighing, she stood up shakily, averting her eyes from the blood-covered room.

"Wash yourself and change your clothes." She ordered. "And find a bag, pack some clothes and food." He obeyed silently, walking past her uncertainly. She drew a deep breath. Next, she had to return to her own house, and needed to tell her parents that she was leaving. Of course, that would never go smoothly … a written note would have to do.

She blinked back tears, knowing that is wasn't the time for being overly sentimental or emotional. Nodding her head in resolve, she closed the door of the living room, and walked as steadily as she could towards the front door.

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Sasuke looked around annoyed at the crowded, noisy street as he walked, scowling at the multitude of people gathered around the stalls, and was reminded again how much he hated towns in general. How these people did it every day was a mystery to him; the streets were noisy, smelly, always bustling with people and animals, and yet the people wore cheery expressions as they shouted at each other over other people, as though they enjoyed the hellish ordeal. He attempted to ask people to move out of his way as he made his way through the crowds, but was completely ignored. He growled angrily at this. He hated being ignored.

"Have these people never heard of personal space?" He said coldly to the two bodyguards who flanked him, and brushed off his shoulder with a disgusted grimace as someone pushed past him. One of the guards laughed, putting a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, which he promptly removed when given a venomous glare.

The guard smiled from behind a mask that covered half of his face, running a hand through odd silver hair. The trio made their way through in the direction of where they'd been told there was an inn. The progress was incredibly slow, as the crowd seemed to be working against them. By the time they reached the door they were all exhausted. Sasuke leaned back against the wall to catch his breath.

"Kakashi." The silver haired man looked up at him. "You go in first, see if there are any rooms available." With a nod, the guard entered, leaving the other two alone. Sasuke closed his eyes, praying inwardly that this inn would have a bed more comfortable than a block of wood. Sighing and yawning slightly, he saw the other guard watching him with inquisitive blue eyes.

"What?" He said irritably. She shrugged, and flicked a strand of light blonde hair from her eye.

"You look real tired." She said, offering a smile. He sighed again and looked away, but she continued to watch him. "If it's too much for you, we could take longer breaks, I'm sure Kaka-"

"No." He interrupted, glaring at her. "I'm fine, Ino." She stared at him for a moment and then nodded, smiling again.

"There is space." Kakashi informed them, reappearing at the door. Sasuke nodded at him, and straightened, but Kakashi hesitated. Sasuke looked at him questioningly. "But … there is only one room, so we'll have to share it." Sasuke fixed an angry glare at the awkward looking guard. "It's okay, we have separate beds!" But this didn't seem to appease Sasuke either. "It's that or we wander around for another couple of hours trying to find somewhere else."

Sasuke considered this, maintaining his angry stare. Finally, his shoulders slumped in defeat. He marched past the guard, who grinned at Ino from behind his mask. Ino grinned back, and they walked into the inn after him.

The woman behind the desk eyed the group thoughtfully, but was used to odd travellers. The one who walked in first was wearing a hood, but she could see part of his face and dark hair from beneath it. From what she could tell, he looked barely over 18, though his expensive clothes suggested high status.

Behind followed a man who had the bottom half of his face covered in mask, and one eye covered with a headband. Although the silver hair suggested he was quite old, she could tell from what could be seen of the face and body that he was actually probably quite young.

The third member of the group was a girl, probably of similar age to the boy, who sported long blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. Although from her appearance she could have looked like an innocent young woman, the dark clothes and armour she wore, and the quick assessing glance of her surroundings hinted that she was most likely a fighter of some sort.

The woman watched with mild interest as the hooded boy ordered his two companions to carry their bags to the room, whilst he drank casually from a water flask, following slowly. She nodded to herself before turning back to her registry book. An interesting group indeed.


	2. Chapter 2

New chapter already (yay!) but that's cause I already had most of it done. The next one won't come so fast, sorry!

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Naruto collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily as he leaned against a tree. Beside him, his companion did the same. This wasn't going according to plan. After they had left Sakura's house, it was almost dawn, and there were several villagers moving about already. They had tried to stick to the shadows and avoid being sighted, but that failed as Naruto lost his balance and fell neatly onto a fish cart. The cart promptly gave way, leaving him covered in fish and half surrounded by shocked villagers. Apparently the killing at Iruka's house had been discovered, as angry villagers appeared with torches, pitchforks, large knives, and other tools that could cause serious harm. They had pointed their weapons aggressively towards the dazed blond, fear dancing in their eyes behind their anger. Sakura had quickly grabbed her friend, pulling him up and dragging him away as fast as possible.

Thus how they came to be chased miles across farmlands on foot, not being able to stop. The last time they had looked back, they could see horses in the distance, and the glint of sunlight flashing off the horses told them that the horses were armoured. Not only was the pair being chased by an angry mob, but also it seemed that the militia had decided to join in as well. Sakura sighed; as if it wasn't going to be tough enough, they were now wanted criminals.

Still panting heavily, Naruto turned to her, giving her a reassuring half smile. She smiled back softly, and closed her eyes as she leaned against him tiredly. Although she didn't want to admit it, she had been terrified when the villagers had arrived, worried that the demon could have taken over Naruto again. Even if the villagers were wrong about him, she thought, they were rightly fearful, and they didn't all deserve to die. Beside her, Naruto was thinking exactly the same thing, and shivered slightly.

Although they had barely spoken since they had left Iruka's home, the demon automatically became a taboo subject, neither wanting to speak about it. Sakura had many concerns and questions, but decided that Naruto wouldn't want talk about it after what had to be a very traumatic experience for him. Naruto himself kept his thoughts away from it, and occupied himself daydreaming about a good meal, particularly ramen. He hummed to himself contentedly, earning a strange look from his companion.

When they had caught their breath, they took off their packs and searched for something to eat. Sakura brought out a small loaf of bread, and was about to bite into it when she caught Naruto staring at her.

"What?" She asked, moving the bread away from him cautiously.

"Oh nothing." He mumbled, eyeing the bread hungrily. She caught the look, and frowned at him, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

"You didn't bring anything to eat?" She asked, her voice a low growl. He laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. She glared at him, the look promising forthcoming pain.

Just as she prepared to strangle him, shouts were heard in the distance behind them. Food problem instantly forgotten, they exchanged a worried glance, and quickly jumped up and donned their packs. Sakura looked up at the sun in the sky, hoping to judge which direction they should go in. Realising she didn't remember how to judge direction by the position of the sun, she cursed, grabbed Naruto's hand, and ran in the opposite direction of the shouts. Naruto watched her do this and laughed to himself as he followed her.

As they ran, he gripped her hand tightly; glad for the comfort it gave him. He realised, as she held her hand out to him after climbing over a fence, that despite what had happened, he still had a good reason to be happy. This thought made him smile, and he watched her struggling to keep pace admiringly. Yes, despite what happened, Sakura had stayed by his side, helped him through and supported him, as she had always done.

Then he frowned as another thought came to him. What would have happened to him if she hadn't been at the house with him? He shook his head to clear the thoughts, as the cruel and hostile eyes of the villagers flashed in his memory, haunting him.

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The first thing that Sasuke noticed as he woke, was that he was lying on something hard, uneven, and very uncomfortable. He groaned, forcing open his heavy eyes to look around. He was not too surprised to see that the hard object he was lying on was in fact the mattress of a bed in the inn room. Probably stuffed with wood, he decided, scowling at it. He looked up sharply at a snicker from across the room.

Kakashi was sitting cross-legged on another bed, fully clothed, his face buried in a worn book, but Sasuke knew from experience that the silver haired guard was watching him. Still scowling, he surveyed the room, seeing his other guard snoring soundly on a bed facing him, a bed that he remembered being much further away from his. He stifled a yawn, and his eyes fell on a table that held a tray of what he assumed was some sort of food. Stale food that had been thrown across a room, stamped on, and then placed carelessly on a tray to be put on the table. He glared at the tray of 'food', cursing his growling stomach for its weakness.

Ignoring the amused look in Kakashi's eyes from over the book, he dragged himself out of the bed and approached the table warily. As he came close, another snicker came from the man on the bed, and he turned to glare angrily at him, wondering what was funny.

"With Ino in the room, you probably shouldn't walk around dressed like that." The man informed the dark haired boy gleefully, his eyes still focused on his book. Sasuke looked down at his colourfully decorated underwear, before going slightly red and leaping back to his own bed. He shot a wary look at Ino's bed, and sighed in relief as he saw she was still sleeping peacefully. He gave Kakashi a dangerous glare, which the man shrugged off without moving his eyes from the book. Sasuke briefly wondered if there was an eye watching him through the headband, or the man just had a sixth sense.

After getting dressed and making a valiant attempt at eating some of the food, and failing, he stood at the window to look across the already bustling street, while Ino dressed herself and politely threw her portion of the meal into the bin. When they were finally set to go, Kakashi's book vanished as he made his way towards the door. Sasuke watched suspiciously, looking for some sign of the missing book, before following silently.

They trudged down the stairs wearily, not looking forward to facing the crowds of people outside. But as they neared the entrance hall, Kakashi suddenly froze, and held up his hand. The other two halted in confusion, and looked at him questioningly. He edged forward, nodding slightly towards the front desk. Around the desk stood a group of armoured men, speaking threateningly to the terrified woman. Sasuke felt slight sympathy, but quickly squashed it and looked worriedly over at Kakashi. The guard shook his head, and gestured back the way they had came.

He led them to the back of the inn, through the kitchen. There, they discovered that they would have probably been sick for weeks if they had eaten a good portion of their breakfast, but had no time to think on this as they hastily made their way towards the back door. Once they had exited, they found themselves in a small deserted alley, and they sighed in relief.

"Imperial Guard." Sasuke stated, his voice slightly shaky. "How the hell did they find us?" Kakashi shook his head, also wondering this, and Sasuke groaned. Ino smiled at him slightly.

"Well a handsome guy like you isn't exactly common, maybe you stood out a bit, even under the hood." Sasuke snorted slightly at the compliment in her words. Ino looked slightly hurt, but quickly hid it, and turned to Kakashi.

"Why do you two always look to me?" The man grumbled, shaking his head.

"Well you are an old man, you have more experience than us right?" Sasuke answered, smirking, and Ino giggled. Kakashi frowned under his mask, and looked indignantly at the two, before sighing and looking around to find his bearings.

"This way." He said finally, nodding to their right. "This should lead to the edge of town. I know a way we can sneak past the gate guards." They gave him a suspicious look, and he shrugged, eye curving up in a smile. "Old friends, you know?" Sasuke snorted again, and then nodded at him.

"Lead the way then, old man."

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Three figures ran swiftly away from the large gates of the city, their pace not slowing as shouting erupted from the walls. One held a sword, and cleaned it with a cloth while running, mumbling between sharp intakes of breath. Another of the figures, face shadowed by a dark blue hood, scowled at him, cursing between his own heavy breathing.

"Kakashi I'm … going to kill … you … what ha … happened to old friends?" The silver haired man gave a sheepish chuckle, and shrugged helplessly at him. The other guard patted his shoulder while running, and gave the best smile she could while she was out of breath.

"Sasuke, it's not … his fault … not many will … go against the new … King." He scowled at Ino, who quickly turned back to the horizon. It was true, he knew, that after what had happened loyalty was a very rare thing to come across. Although he wouldn't say it out loud, he was very grateful towards the two who accompanied him. They could have joined the ones who were attacking, and secured a good amount of money and land, not to mention a high position. However, they had known him since he was a child, and they refused to betray him, helping him to escape the castle as his bodyguards. They had risked their own lives to save him, and were prepared to follow him to wherever he wanted to go.

The amount of people who had stood in their way was impressive however; old friends, guards and even servants wanting the reward for stopping the prince. Once he had thought that being a prince meant being above everyone else, and better than them, deserving of loyalty. But as he had watched his only two supporters fight for his life, he realised that the only thing that swayed people was money, and power. After all that had happened, he was scared. He couldn't remember ever feeling as scared as he was in the present. Before he had always had something to support him. But now everything he knew, the foundations of his old life, his family – everything had fallen away like a curtain, leaving him alone in the centre of the stage … almost alone.

They arrived breathlessly at the bank of a river, and looked at it up and down, but seeing no bridge. Sasuke collapsed to his knees, too tired out to stand.

"We … stop … break …" He gave up on speaking, seeing that he got his message across to the other two, who also collapsed to the ground. Ino watched the flushed Sasuke as he began coughing sharply, and was even more concerned as the uncontrollable coughing continued for several minutes. She gave Kakashi a desperate look, but he shook his head. They both had known that although the prince had received combat and endurance training, he was nowhere near the level of herself and Kakashi. The chase had pushed them to the limit, and it was surprising that he'd made it this far without passing out.

After several minutes, they were breathing easier, but Sasuke was still panting, and coughing regularly. She could see the concerned look from Kakashi even with the mask covering his face, and she knew that Sasuke wouldn't be able to go any further. She silently prayed that they would be able to rest for at least a while.

Her prayer wasn't answered as an arrow flew past her head, embedding itself into the tree she was leaning against. Instantly, the two guards were flat on the ground, so they were less obvious targets, and they both dragged the coughing prince down to the ground as well. Surrounding the group were a large force of Imperial Guards, several of them equipped with long bows that were pointed in their direction. Ino quickly assessed the situation, and grimaced. They had fired a single warning arrow to notify the group of the circumstances, a gesture that she knew meant that they were expected to surrender. She wasn't surprised; even elite bodyguards like themselves couldn't fight against such overwhelming odds.

A quick glance at Kakashi and she knew immediately what he was thinking. He was eying the river and considering the strength of the current. She nodded to herself, and looked at the raging water uncertainly, but knew it was their only option. Sasuke would never allow himself to be captured, and would sooner die. In fact, the logical outcome of being captured would be execution, considering he was the only blood heir besides the one on the throne. Yes, she thought, looking at Sasuke sadly, his brother would certainly kill him.

A signal from Kakashi caught her eye, and nodded quickly at him, before they both gripped Sasuke's arms. They slowly stood up, holding up the barely conscious prince, and they raised one hand in surrender. The archers aiming towards them slowly lowered the bows, and the soldiers began to approach. The bodyguards moved slowly towards the edge of the river, which was unnoticed by the confidently advancing soldiers.

Kakashi lowered his hand, and nodded at Ino who did the same. The advancing soldiers paused in confusion, not having time to react before the group of three jumped backwards into the river. The archers hastily readied their bows, aiming at what they could see of the three figures that were being swept swiftly downstream. Streams of arrows flew towards them, but in vain as the swirling current pulled the targets out of reach.

The captain held up his hand as the archers prepared to fire again, and they looked at him in confusion. He gestured simply towards the direction the targets had travelled, and realisation came over the assembled force – the three were headed towards a waterfall.

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"Sakura, wake up!" Naruto said, shaking the pink haired girl softly. She shifted, and her eyes slowly fluttered open to meet Naruto's. "We have to get moving." She groaned, sitting up and taking in her surroundings, before fixing him with an irritated look.

"We slept in a barn?" The blond nodded, grinning at her.

"You were exhausted when we got here, so you might not remember. There's an inn not far from here, but with people chasing us, it would be safer to stay away from public places." He turned to search his pack for a water flask. A gasp from Sakura made him spin around. Her hands had rose to clutch her head, and her eyes were wide with horror.

"What is it?" He asked urgently, leaning forward.

"My ... my hair!" She whispered, her hand running through the chaotic pink hair that was decorated with hay.

"Your … hair?" He repeated. His look of concern was placed with a frown as her words sunk in. He sighed, and began to turn around again. Sakura suddenly grabbed his arm in an astonishingly tight grip, yanking him to face her, menacing emerald eyes meeting his.

"Naruto." She said darkly. "I need a mirror. You will find one, and _soon_." He gulped, and nodded fearfully. Satisfied, she smiled sweetly and let him go. He stumbled backwards, mumbling to himself about girls being insane.

They put on their packs, and headed towards the inn in the distance. When they came close, Naruto surveyed the surroundings again. Happy there were no hordes of angry villagers waiting to jump the pair, he motioned Sakura to follow him into the small building. Inside, it looked even smaller, the front door opening immediately into a dark room littered with tables and chairs that had definitely seen better days.

The few patrons stuffed into the room stared at the pair curiously as they made their way towards the counter. At the counter a scruffy-looking man eyed them suspiciously, particularly the whisker-like marks on Naruto's cheeks. He straightened as the newcomers approached and put on a cordial expression, bowing slightly to them.

"Hello, I was wondering," she cleared her throat nervously, "do you have a mirror for sale?" The man raised his eyebrows in surprise, staring as if wondering whether she was being serious. Naruto noticed his hesitation, and pulled several large silver coins from his money pouch. This instantly caught the man's attention, his eyes brightening. Naruto smirked as he held them out towards the innkeeper. Before he had fled his guardian's house, he had found where Iruka kept his money. He had been surprised to find that the man had in fact been very well off. Naruto had always thought that the decent sized house was just family inheritance, considering the lack of expensive furniture or other possessions suggesting wealth.

"I will find one for you immediately, young lady." The man said politely, eyes not leaving the coins, before hurrying into a back room. Sakura smiled gratefully at her friend, and he shrugged back, returning the smile. The innkeeper returned holding a small disc that was worn and covered in dust. Sakura eyed the object doubtfully, but then nodded at the man, who quickly handed it over. Naruto handed the money to the man, and was rewarded with a delighted grin and a deep bow. After thanking him, they made their way back outside, ignoring the curious stares from the patrons.

The innkeeper watched them go, still smiling. As they left, a masked figure dressed in black stepped out of the darkness in the corner of the room, and gave the innkeeper a nod before following. The innkeeper's smile faltered slightly at sight, but this was promptly forgotten when he turned back to the small pile of coins, counting them again gleefully.

"That was creepy!" Naruto exclaimed as they strolled down the path away from the inn, "Did you see the way they all stared? I was half expecting them to attack us or something!" Sakura, having retrieved a comb from her pack, ignored his rambling, fixing her hair and humming to herself contentedly.

Soon they heard running water in the distance, and Sakura brightened even more at the thought of a river.

"I'll finally be able to bathe!" she squealed delightedly. Naruto raised his eyebrows at her, not being particularly fond of getting wet. Though thinking about it, he realised he definitely needed to wash after the fleeing and sleeping in barns. He sighed in defeat, looking at the joyful girl next to him. A mischievous smile crept onto his face at the thought of bathing with her. Unfortunately for him, she caught it.

"Don't even think about it!" she yelled, smacking the back of his head.

"Ow! I wasn't, I wasn't!" he cried indignantly, but shrunk under her glare. "Besides how-" He stopped mid-sentence, looking at the river that had came into sight. "Hey, look at that." He pointed to the bank, where he could see something that had been washed up. Sakura followed his finger, and her eyes widened.

"Those are people! We should go see if they're okay." He nodded, and followed his friend quickly. As they got closer, he could see that there were two figures not far from each other, both lying motionless. There were a few belongings scattered about, soaked with water. They reached the first body, hurriedly kneeling on the sand. Sakura turned him over, and let out a gasp. Naruto leaned forward curiously to get a better view.

The boy was limp and pale, his skin tinged with a slight blue. Dark hair sprawled across his face untidily, contrasting with the pale skin. He wore a luxurious dark blue cloak over a black jacket and formal trousers. Naruto stifled his own gasp, looking the boy up and down. He was –

"Wow, he's beautiful." Sakura breathed. Naruto snapped his head up to look at her, her statement having voiced his exact thoughts. She put two fingers on his neck to check the pulse, and Naruto did the same for his wrist. He drew his hand away quickly when he found the pulse. The hand had been deathly cold. Sakura shot Naruto a worried glance, which he returned. They both looked at the boy again. Naruto studied him ponderingly.

"I wonder if he's single." Sakura murmured, not noticing the horrified look from the blond. The fact that she was apparently able to read his mind was frightening him. He coughed nervously; hoping his next thoughts about the boy weren't read. Sakura looked up at him thoughtfully, and he paled slightly. But then she turned to look at the other body. He sighed in relief.

Sakura stood and made her way to the other figure, a blonde girl who was just as pale, and her face was bruised slightly. Naruto watched as she checked the pulse.

"She seems okay, but her breath is uneven." She called to him, and he nodded back at her.

"We'll have to get them out of the wet clothes and into something warmer." He called back. "I'll take the boy, you take the girl." Sakura pouted slightly, but then sighed and turned back to the girl, not noticing the blond's triumphant look.

He removed the cloak, which was heavy with water, and slipped the jacket off tentatively. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. Despite being slender, the boy was amazing well built, a stark contrast to Naruto himself. He would have felt more jealous - was he not holding the half naked boy in his arms. He ran a hand absently down the defined chest, before catching himself, and stole a cautious glance at Sakura. A heavy article of clothing smashed into his face, and he yelped, falling back.

"Keep your eyes away from her Naruto, you pervert!" He rubbed his nose, cursing under his breath. He should have seen that one coming. Inhaling steadily, he began to slip off the boy's trousers.

Then he began laughing. He knew he was getting an odd look from Sakura, but didn't care, still staring at the boy's underwear incredulously. They were bright pink, decorated with red and white fans, making a peculiar and rather comical result. They certainly didn't fit in with the dark and formal clothing.

He caught his breath, and silently decided that he wouldn't comment if and when the boy woke. His own underwear wasn't exactly 'ordinary'.

After the two were wrapped up in dry towels and clothes, Naruto made a fire as Sakura left to bathe. He had protested, of course, but decided not to follow her as very convincing promises of death were sent his way. He sighed, taking in the warmth of the fire and yawning. His eyes rested on the possessions of the two who were sleeping.

"That's odd," he murmured to himself, stifling another yawn, "three packs but only two people." He shrugged it off in his weariness, and then he grinned at the packs. If they were travelling also, he figured, they would be carrying food. He bounced excitedly over to the packs, his stomach growling with anticipation. After all, he thought happily, acts of selflessness and charity don't fill an empty stomach.


	3. Chapter 3

Sasuke slowly slipped away from a peaceful darkness, the sound of laughter from close by filling his head. His body felt numb, and his eyelids were incredibly heavy. He tried to move his head, but was unsuccessful, his body not responding.

Slowly, and with immense effort, he opened a single eye. Someone was sitting in front of him, but he struggled to make out the form. He forced his eye upward, where it was almost blinded by sunlight reflecting of bright blond hair. If his face were able to move, he knew, it would be set in a deep frown. The person turned around, and Sasuke found himself looking at a boy, probably his own age.

His first impression was that the boy looked very … interesting. Below the obnoxiously blond hair, brilliant blue eyes sparkled at him. He lowered his gaze to the boy's cheeks, where three pairs of odd lines decorated tanned skin. The boy had noticed that he was awake, and a grin appeared. Sasuke was momentarily startled by how wide it was.

Then the boy waved cheerfully towards him. Sasuke mentally frowned again at this, and closed his eye. Gods, he _hated _cheerful. Two loud voices were now surrounding him, and he cursed, trying to ignore them. He wanted to find the peaceful darkness that he had came out of, and searched for it desperately. It didn't take long, the exercise with his eye having exhausted him. Inwardly sighing, he drifted back into unconsciousness.

"Oh," Naruto said, a hint of disappointment in his voice, "he's out again." Sakura frowned at him.

"Of course he is. Who would want to stay conscious after seeing your face as they wake up?" Naruto scowled as she continued, her eyes distant. "I should have been the first one he saw, it would be love at first sight." Naruto snorted.

"If he saw you first, he'd be out for a week." She ignored him, still in her own world.

"I wonder if he's a romantic sort of person? He looks romantic. Ah yes." she sighed dreamily. "My handsome prince to sweep me off my feet."

"He's probably nothing like that, you know. Besides, the girl could be his fiancé or something." Sakura's eyebrows shot up at this, and her face settled into a displeased scowl.

"No, he doesn't look right for her. Hm I don't think it'd be allowed." Naruto stared at her, confusion written in his face. "You see it's not coincidence we met like this-"

"- You haven't met yet." Naruto interrupted.

"…Like this, it's fate. Yes, we are destined to meet, fall in love…" She smiled for a second, but then frowned again. "Even if he was with the girl, she'd be nothing in the face of our love."

Naruto stared in disbelief at her. She was, he decided, completely delusional now. A delusional mind reader, his brain reminded him. He winced at this thought, and looked cautiously up at her. The scowl now directed towards him told him that she'd read him perfectly. I must ask her how she does that, he thought vaguely. Sakura met his eyes threateningly, and he braced himself.

"Naruto, just because you haven't actually been in-" Her words were cut off suddenly. Naruto looked up, and then gasped. Sakura was pale, and her eyes wide. A knife was pressed against her throat, sliding across it and almost breaking the skin.

Naruto met blue eyes glaring at him from behind Sakura, and it took him a moment to realise that it was the blonde-haired girl. He had to think quickly, he knew, and defuse the situation.

"Hey uh … um … you." Nice one Uzumaki, a voice inside his head told him sarcastically. The girl maintained the glare for a moment, before her eyes flicked to the unconscious form of Sasuke, and back again.

"Where is Kakashi?" she hissed. Naruto looked at the other boy and then back to her, and gave her a helpless shrug. He looked to Sakura for support. She was shaking, but she caught his look, and spoke up.

"Who is … Kakashi?" The tightening of the other girls grip made her swallow fearfully. "We only found you two." The girl hesitated, and her face became concerned as she looked over to the boy again.

"Sasuke." Releasing Sakura, she hurried over to him. Sakura sighed with relief, still shaking slightly.

"What happened?" The girl asked, checking her companion.

"We found both of you washed up on the riverbank." Naruto replied, putting an arm around Sakura comfortingly.

"Oh." She gave them both an appraising look. Then she nodded slowly. "Well, I should thank you then." She bowed deeply, surprising them. "My name is Ino Yamanaka, I'm …" She paused, glancing at the dark haired boy again. "I'm Sasuke's bodyguard I suppose."

"Bodyguard?" Naruto said, stunned. "Wow he must be rich."

"And important." Sakura added in awe. "Say, are you … well, his girlfriend?" Naruto stared at his friend in shock. It somehow didn't seem right asking something so personal to someone they barely knew. Not that Sakura would care. The blonde-haired girl looked stunned also, but then narrowed her eyes.

"No, I'm not." She said coldly. Almost bitterly, Naruto thought.

"Does he have a fiancé or a love interest?" Naruto quickly clapped his hand over Sakura's mouth, seeing the dark expression on the other's face. Ino glowered, but looked thoughtful.

"Well he was supposed to have a fiancé back at the capital, but …" She looked over at the two again, assessing. No, she decided, it would be too dangerous to give away their identity, even if they had saved the prince. "No, not currently." Her face settled in a frown. "Are you going to tell me your names?" Grateful for the topic change, Naruto spoke up enthusiastically.

"Oh yeah! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and this is Sakura Haruno. Sorry about her rudeness, but she's a bit of a- ow! Sakura!"

"I was just curious." Sakura amended. "So … you said there was someone missing?"

"Yes, there was another bodyguard … Kakashi Hatake." She shrugged slightly. "I think he'll be okay though. If anyone could survive this, it'd be him." A silence settled over the three, as they were deep in thought.

"So, Ino," Naruto began, not really enjoying the sudden quiet, "how did you all end up in a river?"

"Well it's …" It wouldn't be a good idea to mention the Imperial Guard, she thought, grimacing. "It was just an accident, really." Naruto looked at her curiously, but then nodded.

"You can't have been guarding that well heh." Naruto said jokingly, but paled when a furious glare was shot his way.

"Ino?" Naruto looked gratefully towards the form of Sasuke, who had unknowingly saved him.

"Sasuke! Are you okay?" Ino leaned over to him concernedly.

"I'm fine." He lied. The numbness had developed into a dull pain, and even small movement increased it. Of course, he would never admit to being weak. "Where are we? Who are _they_?" He said the last part almost contemptuously. Naruto scowled, but Sakura ignored the tone of voice and jumped forward so he could see her better.

"I'm Sakura Haruno!" She exclaimed, holding her hand out. He looked at it with a blank expression, before turning to Ino expectantly. He realised by her attitude that she had no idea who he was.

"I'm not quite sure who they are, but they found us washed up after we fell into the river. They helped us." Sasuke looked less than pleased at being saved by the strangers.

"I see. Where is Kakashi?" Ino bit her lip, and looked away. "Ino?"

"We didn't find him with you, he must have been taken further downstream or something." Sakura offered, "I'm sure he's okay though." Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the pink-haired girl.

"You're still here?" He said coldly. Sakura winced, but didn't reply. Naruto jumped to her defence angrily.

"Quit being such a bastard!" He shouted at the bemused boy. "We saved you, you know, the least you can do is be grateful!" Sasuke fixed him with an icy glare.

"Shut it, Naruto." Sakura said, annoyed.

"But Sakura …" He complained, still staring fiercely at the dark-haired boy.

"So you did this out of charity? Not for anything in return?" Sakura looked surprised by Sasuke's question.

"Of course! I mean of course we don't want anything in return, we just wanted to help out, right Naruto?" Said blond was studying the ground intently, looking guilty. "Naruto?"

"Well, uh … you see …" Sakura looked at him threateningly. "Well after all the – saving and stuff, I was kind of hungry."

"Naruto …" Sakura growled angrily. Sasuke and Ino also scowled at him.

"It's okay, I didn't eat much!" He said hurriedly, "I mean most of it was soaked and ruined by the water." Ino frowned at him worriedly, and quickly seized the packs. Sasuke took his, and unpacked some of his clothes to determine if any of his possessions were ruined. He sighed in relief as he drew out a book, which was intact and barely damp. Sakura gazed at the book with mild interest.

"Hm, isn't that the Uchiha crest?" she said absently. Sasuke and Ino froze, and she gave them a confused look. Then her eyes widened in realisation as it dawned on her.

"Wait - are you Sa-Sasuke … Uchiha?" She had heard about the Uchiha prince – who hadn't? – And she found herself speechless, staring at him in shock. Naruto however, had no such difficulty. He didn't notice the tense silence that had developed.

"Sasuke Uchiha? Oh yeah, I've heard about you! You're the treasonous prince right?" Everyone turned to stare at him, shocked at how easily he had said it. "What?" He shrugged off the stares, and then frowned to himself. "Damn, I'm an idiot! I should have realised it when I saw those expensive jewels in your packs, not to mention that fan-shaped thing on your … stuff. Uh - not that I was looking through your stuff …" He finished with a feeble cough.

Ino recovered first, still staring at Naruto. "What? T-treasonous?" He nodded.

"Yep I heard that the younger prince wanted the throne for himself, and tried to take the castle." Sasuke let out a strangled gasp. Seeing this was a surprise to the prince, he decided to elaborate for him. "Then Itachi returned to stop you, was too late to save the King, but drove you out of the castle." Sasuke's face twisted in anger, his face turning red, and he looked ready to explode. He managed to control himself enough to speak.

"Forget killing the bastard – I'm going to capture him, so he can be beaten and tortured everyday, he will be begging for death! No, even that's too kind for him …" He descended into mumbling scary and rather sadistic scenarios that his brother would experience when caught. Ino watched anxiously, whilst Naruto and Sakura backed away slightly.

"Uh, what did actually happen?" Naruto ventured, addressing Ino, but Sasuke spoke up from his rambling.

"Itachi - he stormed the palace with rebel troops and his supporters, and-" he paused, closing his eyes, "he killed them. He killed them all. All of the Uchiha bloodline, even the children. " He buried his face in his hands, letting out small sounds that could be mistaken for sobs, if he was not Sasuke Uchiha.

Naruto looked on in horror, simultaneously feeling sympathy and overwhelming anger.

"I'll kill him!" Naruto shouted, surprising even the grieving Uchiha. "Him and his supporters, they all deserve to die! I'll make them all pay for that." He punched a nearby tree with his fist, and watched the blood trickle down his arm. "I swear it."

Sakura looked up at him, amazed by the display. Naruto had always been open with his emotions, and impulsive. The very Naruto-like action made her think back to better times, when he wasn't so aware of all the hate that was directed towards him. She watched him admiringly, and she wasn't the only one.

Ino almost fainted with shock when she saw that Sasuke, watching Naruto through red eyes, was smiling at him ever so slightly. In all the time they had guarded Sasuke, they'd never seen him smile. Smirking, yes, but never a genuine smile.

She looked at Naruto, the loud and irritating blond, fascinated. What had he got that she hadn't? She felt slightly envious at that, but it was overshadowed by a newfound respect for this unusual boy.

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Sasuke and Naruto watched amusedly as the two girls, apparently having become instant friends, chatted enthusiastically about clothes, shoes and certain dark-haired prince. Naruto was astounded by how much they could say about a single item of clothing. To him, a red dress was a red dress, whichever way you look at it, but they had found a multitude of ways to describe something trivial, and assess it in great detail.

In contrast, himself and Sasuke had nothing to say to each other, and they sat in what he considered a 'companionable' silence. Though he was certain Sasuke didn't see it that way. Naruto stole glances at Sasuke frequently, trying to figure out what the Uchiha was thinking behind the frown that appeared to be his natural expression.

Sasuke hadn't been keen on the idea of travelling with Sakura and himself, but Ino had convinced him that the extra fighter would be useful, and Sakura had basic medical knowledge that could be helpful also.

It had been a surprise to them that they were both heading to the Fire country. Sasuke was going to the capital, to speak with the ruler, whilst Sakura lied that her and Naruto were going to visit her relatives. The prince had been suspicious that they were prepared to possibly risk their lives for the sake of strangers, even if they were prestigious strangers, but had not pushed the issue.

Naruto and Sakura, having had a brief discussion in private, decided that it would be best to not mention that they were on the run themselves. How would they explain that Naruto was a demon and being chased by mysterious masked figures without being dismissed as lunatics or being deserted? If they travelled with well-trained fighters like Ino and Sasuke, they would have less chance of being attacked, and would be better able to defend themselves.  
Naruto lay back on the grass, closing his eyes against the overhead sun. Relaxing in peace and quiet was not a common activity for him. Iruka had always said that he lacked to attention span to not be actively focusing on something.

He frowned as an image of the guardian flashed in his mind. He still had no idea whether Iruka was alive, and if he was, if he was in trouble. Maybe he would never see Iruka again, dead or alive.

He blinked back tears brimming in his eyes, and forced himself to focus away from Iruka. Something easy and simple … like ramen. He nodded to himself, wondering if they had good ramen in the Fire country, and stands like back home. Iruka would always take him to the ramen stands to treat him, and sometimes for no reason.

He cursed silently as his mind drifted back to the missing guardian, and attempted a distraction again, looking around desperately. His eyes fell on the Uchiha prince once more.

Naruto still wasn't sure what to make of Sasuke. Surprisingly, the fact that he was a prince, and on the run, had not really bothered him, considering the peculiarity of his own situation.

The attitude was what bothered him the most – he acted cold and aloof most of the time, and was far from sociable. He wondered if there was a softer, more accessible Sasuke beneath the tough outer shell. He found it hard to imagine a bright and happy Sasuke – it'd be weird. Besides, the brooding look was attractive.

This made him frown again. Of course he wasn't attracted to such a conceited bastard. That must be Sakura's craziness rubbing off on him … did that make him similar to Sakura? He laughed nervously to himself at the idea.

"What are you laughing at?" He looked up to see Sasuke eyeing him strangely. Beside him, latched onto each arm, were Sakura and Ino. He tried to shake them off, but unsuccessfully, and gave in when he found the harder he tried, the more whining sounds the two girls would emit. Naruto grinned inwardly at this. Or, not so inwardly. "Stop grinning like an idiot, we're going now."

Naruto, grumbling indignantly, crawled over to his pack. Meanwhile, Sasuke attempted to pry the two leeches off again. They resisted cheerfully, and discussed the weather between his complaints. Naruto felt slight sympathy for the boy, and walked over, placing a frown on his face.

"You shouldn't do that to Sasuke." The two girls looked to him, their eyes daring him to say more. "I mean, after the river incident, he still needs time to heal. You're probably hurting him, no matter how much he would normally enjoy it."

Sasuke was immediately freed from the vice grip. He looked annoyed at the last comment, but nodded at Naruto gratefully. Naruto grinned back, and then turned to the guilty-looking girls. "Feel free to escort me though!"

The girls began to walk ahead, determinedly ignoring the blond. Shrugging, Naruto followed behind, and was joined by Sasuke. The girls had already launched into a conversation about footwear, leaving Sasuke and Naruto staring in bewilderment.

"Are all girls this crazy, or are they just special?" Naruto murmured. Sasuke gave an amused grunt in response. Naruto gave him a sideways glance, and another question popped into his head. "Can girls read minds or something? I swear Sakura can read mine." Sasuke hid his surprise at the question.

"Idiot." He replied simply. He was amazed at the blond's foolishness. He had to agree about the crazy part though. The two ahead were completely out of it if they thought he would ever care about them beyond friendship. They were far too annoying.

He stumbled in surprise as two hurt frowns were sent his way. Ignoring the blond, who had raised his eyebrows knowingly, he regained his calm and continued walking. Damnit, he thought, glaring at the girl's backs, the blond's stupidity is catching on.

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"Ramen!" Naruto shouted suddenly, grinning happily as he received puzzled looks from his companions. "They'll definitely have ramen in the village! We should hurry before it gets dark, I'll treat everyone!" He bounced excitedly in the direction of the village looming on the horizon.

"Wait, idiot." Sasuke grabbed the protesting boy's arm, pulling him back.

"What? We need to get there quickly for the ramen! Oh …" Naruto frowned suddenly at him, "don't you like ramen Sasuke?" Sasuke snorted slightly at the question, but then realised they were all looking at him curiously, and looked away.

"I … what's 'ramen'?" He snapped. Naruto eyes widened.

"You don't know – you don't know what ramen is!" Naruto said in disbelief. Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly, but felt increasingly uncomfortable under Naruto's shocked stare. Fortunately, Sakura chose to come to his defence.

"Naruto, don't be so rude to Sasuke! He probably only eats _proper_ food."

"Ramen is proper food!" Naruto shouted defiantly.

"Of course it isn't!" Sakura shot back. "No wonder you're so weak and fragile, if you live on that rubbish!" Naruto pointed a finger at her furiously.

"Weak and fragile? I'll show you weak and –"

"Stop it, both of you!" Ino yelled, "You're annoying his highness!"

"His highness?" Naruto said incredulously. "Since when have you called him that?"

"You're the one who should call him that, you disrespectful brat!" She screeched back. Sakura leapt forward to confront her.

"Watch what you're saying, Ino-pig, Naruto may be a –"

"Who're you calling a pig you big-foreheaded –"

Sasuke sighed, strolling away from the loud threesome. If he stayed, he knew he'd be dragged into the childish argument. He expected something like that from Naruto, but he was disappointed in Ino. As an elite bodyguard, she should have been able to keep her cool.

She had surprised him with her audacity recently; before she would never have been so aggressive in her attempts to get closer to him. He was certain it was connected to the appearance of Sakura. Competition for his attention was not something new to him; back in the castle he had encountered many desperate women seeking his favour, from foreign princesses to the kitchen workers.

His father had tried frantically to get him to choose a wife, for the sake of the future of the country, but was unsuccessful. Sasuke couldn't stand any of them, and the harder they tried, the more annoying they were. He had only ever been attracted to one person, who happened to be another boy.

When his father had found out, he had almost been disowned. The scolding had been accompanied by the usual praise of his older brother Itachi. No matter what he did, it was always in comparison to his genius older brother.

Even after Itachi had been exiled, he was urged to become more like him. He had considered joining Itachi just to spite his father, but had decided against it when he contemplated a life without being rich. Not that money made him happy – it just made unhappiness more bearable.

A rustle from the trees to his side made him freeze in his tracks. Instantly, he focused his awareness on his surroundings. A twig snapped up ahead, and he saw movement to his right. Having all the indication he needed that he was being surrounded, he jumped backward, and ran back towards the direction he had came.

As he ran, he heard more footsteps behind him. Without looking, he guessed that there were at least five chasing him, possible more in the cover of the trees. Finally, he came in sight of the clearing where he had left his three companions.

"Ino! Look out, we're being –" He froze as he reached the clearing. Lying discarded on the ground were their packs – but there was no sign of the three owners.


	4. Chapter 4

Ok so I felt bad about the cliffhanger thing (honestly :P ) so wrote this chapter up quickly. It is slightly shorter than the rest though – will have to make up for it with a longer chapter next time heh. Well anyway, enjoy!

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Sasuke spun around to face the pursuers, but found that there was just a single man now, who was watching him curiously. He was dressed in black, and wore a loose mask over his face. Not wanting to be caught off guard, Sasuke drew his sword, and pointed it towards the masked man – but found he was pointing towards nothing. His target had already disappeared into the woods.

He was startled by a distant shout that he recognised as Naruto's voice. He frowned; the shout was back in the direction he had come. Keeping his sword drawn, he ran towards where he had heard it. When he got closer, he could hear the sound of fighting, and sped up urgently.

He arrived at another clearing, and quickly took in the scene. There were four Imperial Guard soldiers, three of them surrounding Ino, the fourth holding Sakura with an arm around her neck. Naruto stood in the centre of the clearing, yelling obscenities at the one holding Sakura, whilst waving a borrowed knife uncertainly.

"Tell us where the prince is and we won't hurt the girl," one of the soldiers said calmly to Ino.

"I don't know! Let her go you bastards!" One of the soldiers tapped his sword against his shoulder-plate thoughtfully.

"I don't believe you." He pointed the sword at her menacingly.

"I'm over here." The soldiers simultaneously turned around to face him. He hid a smirk at how well his quickly planned strategy had worked; they had their backs to Ino, and Sakura had been freed. The enemy were off guard.

Then, in a disastrously idiotic move, Naruto, infuriated by the treatment of Sakura, charged at the closest soldier with a loud and attention-drawing battle cry that caused two of the soldiers to turn back to the three behind. So much for that great idea, Sasuke thought, readying his sword. This could have been so much easier.

The first soldier came at him, sword raised, and he sidestepped, slashing the soldier across the torso. The man instantly collapsed onto the grass. Sasuke hesitated as the next soldier approached. Ino had already taken out the other two – why were they so weak?

He had no time to think as the soldier charged at him – and ran straight past, heading into the woods. Cursing, he made to follow.

"Ino, he's going to get help, stop him!" he shouted. However, before Ino could react, Naruto decided to jump in – literally. Getting a boost from a tree branch, he leaped towards the retreating soldier – and landed on his back.

The soldier, as surprised as Sasuke, stumbled and fell with the sudden weight. Victoriously, Naruto dug the knife into the man's back. He jumped backwards and landed with remarkable agility as the man screamed in pain.

Sasuke and Ino watched this with astonishment, almost disbelieving their eyes. Sakura looked on slightly fearful; when he had jumped, she had seen the red glint in his eye that indicated the demon's power. By the amazed and slightly admiring look from the other two, she guessed they had not seen it.

"Naruto, that was dangerous!" Sakura said, trying to sound annoyed.

"Yes, it was." Sasuke agreed. He looked curiously from the tree branch to the body, and frowned slightly. "That was an incredible jump you did, though. Idiot," he added as an afterthought. Naruto shrugged embarrassedly.

"Uh … thanks, bastard." Sasuke looked slightly taken aback by the answer, but recovered quickly. He now examined the bodies, and looked pensive.

"Were there any others with this group?" He asked Ino. She shook her head.

"No, just these four. A four-man scout squad, I believe." Sasuke nodded slowly – that was why they were weaker in combat. He frowned again, and they looked at him questioningly.

"Before I came here, there were a group of at least five following me."

"What? You had five Imperial Guard trailing you when you were alone?" She gazed at him concernedly. He hesitated, and cleared his throat.

"They weren't Imperial Guard – and they didn't attack me. I don't know who they were – they were dressed entirely in black, and the one I saw wore a mask over his face." He didn't notice Sakura and Naruto freeze beside him. Ino was also apparently shocked. She swallowed, and spoke up.

"Masked figures - do they think they were …"

"Akatsuki? No." He answered to her unvoiced question. Sakura and Naruto leaned forward eagerly, now very interested.

"Can you be sure of that?" Ino asked uncertainly.

"Yes, I'm sure. I know that those that work for Akatsuki have a red, swirled pattern on the chest of the clothing." Naruto gasped in horror, recalling the night they had been attacked; the assailants had what he thought looked like a red cloud pattern on the clothes. A glance at Sakura told him that she'd realised the same thing. Ino and Sasuke were looking at him questioningly.

"Akatsuki?" he said anxiously. "Who are they?"

"Well, to be honest, I'm not really sure myself." Sasuke responded ponderingly. "They are an organisation run by some very powerful people. They have great influence over several major countries, including this one." Naruto took this in, looking unusually contemplative.

"How do you know so much about them?" He asked. Sasuke looked away from his gaze.

"My brother works with them." Ino nodded, while Sakura and Naruto gaped at him. "In fact, they sent some of their followers to aid in the capture of the castle." He sighed again. "I am guessing that they made a deal with Itachi that if they helped him get the throne, he would have to do what they say."

"They want to use the power for their own evil purposes." Ino added darkly. Sasuke looked at the still stunned Sakura and Naruto, and narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Why are you so interested in Akatsuki?" Sakura began to deny it, but Naruto cut in.

"We've seen them before, back home." He didn't notice the angry look he received from his friend. Sasuke stared at him inquisitively, and Sakura spoke up.

"We were just passing when we saw them," she said hurriedly.

"What were they doing there?" Sakura exchanged a glance with Naruto, and Ino frowned at their hesitation. Naruto sighed and lowered his eyes to the ground.

"They captured one of the men in the village," he said quietly.

"What would they want with a man in an insignificant village? Was there something special about him?" Naruto shook his head.

"He was rich though, maybe that was the reason."

"It wouldn't be that – after all, they have a kingdom in their pocket. They wouldn't need the money." Ino nodded at Sasuke. Naruto saw their doubtful looks, and decided it wouldn't be a good idea to push that further. However, he needed whatever information he could get.

"Do you think … he would still be alive?" Sasuke and Ino had begun salvaging the packs of the soldiers, looking for food or water. Sasuke shrugged at him.

"If he's as unimportant as you say, then I doubt it." Naruto stared in horror, and Sasuke realised that the person must have been important to him. He felt a sudden wave of sympathy for him, but wasn't sure how to comfort him.

"Sasuke's right." Ino agreed. "They wouldn't keep someone alive unnecessarily when they have what they want. Of course, if they have reason to keep him alive, or some use for him, then he would still be of value." She looked back to the corpses. "So we don't know anything about the others who were following us?" Sasuke shook his head.

"If they wanted me, they could have attacked me when I was alone." Naruto and Sakura exchanged an uncertain look again, which the other two didn't catch. Did this mean that those people were after Naruto as well as Akatsuki?

Ino stood up and stretched. "Well standing around won't help. We should get back to our packs." The others nodded in agreement, and they made their way back to the clearing.

When they arrived, Sakura grabbed the two packs and dragged Naruto to the other side of the clearing to talk to him. Ino watched them walk away, until they were out of earshot.

"They were lying again," she murmured.

"I noticed," Sasuke said shortly. She looked at him expectantly, and he sighed. "What?"

"Doesn't it bother you?" She asked, watching him closely.

"What do you mean?" He replied coolly. She gave him an exasperated look.

"Stop acting like it's okay that they're keeping something important from us! Not to mention they're involved with Akatsuki somehow."

"Enemy of our enemy." He responded simply, shrugging.

"What if they're dangerous? We're just trusting them based on their word! Which doesn't mean much, considering they lied."

"We lied too, remember? We shouldn't push them if it's private." He looked back up at the scowling girl. "They haven't given us any reason not to trust them other than that. Besides – they don't exactly look dangerous. Naruto's crude combat techniques don't hint at any real training, and Sakura can't even fight." He raised his eyebrows at her, and turned to watch Naruto pacing frantically in front of the pink-haired girl.

"I don't trust them! I think you're just doing this because you like Naruto." Sasuke's head shot back up.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked warningly.

"I mean he's the closest thing you've had to a friend since, well, ever. That's why you're pushing your common sense aside!" He looked back down, and sighed.

"My common sense is intact, and it says we have potential allies and friends who don't pose a threat to us." Ino opened her mouth to protest again. "Until we have reason to believe otherwise, we will stay with them. Understand?" She looked about to retort again, but then sighed and leaned back against her pack.

"If this gets us killed, I won't forgive you."

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Meanwhile, Sakura tried desperately to calm a panicking Naruto.

"What if they've killed Iruka? What will I do? I'll never see him again, ever!"

"You don't know for sure. Neither does Sasuke, he's just guessing."

"What reason would they have to keep him alive? What use could they have for him?" Naruto asked, on the verge of tears. Sakura paused, as a possible reason dawned on her. Noticing her sudden silence, Naruto looked at her in confusion. Then he realised the answer to his own question.

"They're going to use him to get to me." He whispered fearfully. Sakura nodded sadly, and Naruto slumped. "Where do you think we'd find an Akatsuki member willing to make a trade?" She locked his eyes angrily.

"Don't even think about it, Naruto. You know Iruka would never want you to do that. Besides, you can't trust them to keep their side of the bargain."

"We have to try!" He insisted, but Sakura shook her head.

"The only thing we can do at the moment is hope." She watched sadly as Naruto leaned over his pack, face in his arms. "We have to worry more about them chasing us … from what Sasuke said, do you think there are two groups after us?" Naruto sniffed, and looked at her thoughtfully.

"Well, it would make sense that they were after me if they didn't attack Sasuke. I wonder what they want." He sighed and lay down on the grass, gazing at the clouds. "Why is this happening to me – and why now?" Sakura lay down beside him, putting a hand on his comfortingly.

"Back at the house, they didn't want to kill you. That's a good thing right?" She shifted slightly, turning to look at him. "Because while you're alive, you can still hope. There's always a chance everything will work out. Sometimes fate needs a little push." Naruto turned and grinned at her slightly.

"Like with you and the Sasuke?" He said sarcastically. She shoved him slightly.

"Yes, like with me and Sasuke. My fate is to become a princess – it just needs to be pushed along a little." Naruto laughed.

"A little? Pushed by a hundred-man army more like." She shoved him again, pouting.

"When I go to live in the palace, you'd be my handmaiden, Naruto." He scrunched his nose with disgust. "You'd be able to wear my pretty dresses too, if you're good."

"Naruto in a dress, hmm?" Ino said musingly, her and Sasuke having walked over to them. Sasuke smirked at the offended-looking blond. Ino clasped her hands together gleefully. "Yes, we'll have to do that when we get to the Fire country! Do you think he'd look good in pink?" Sakura agreed enthusiastically, and they squealed delightedly as they discussed dressing the poor boy.

Sasuke sighed, and offered his hand to the blond, who took it grudgingly, and let himself be dragged to his feet. When Sasuke opened his mouth to speak, Naruto glared at him.

"Don't you start as well," he huffed. Sasuke smirked again, turning back to the girls, clearing his throat for attention.

"Well, I was going to suggest avoiding the village at first, but it looks like they know where we are, so we may as well sleep in a bed tonight." This was met with nods of approval.

"That means we can go to the hot springs!" Sakura enthused, bubbling with excitement. Naruto and Sasuke looked sceptical, but Ino approved heartily. Sighing, Sasuke looked in the direction of the village. The sky was already darkening, and the air getting cooler.

"Let's go, we don't want to be moving at night." Naruto nodded, and a new thought struck him.

"Ramen!" Sasuke looked at him in disbelief, but the blond just grinned, hopping animatedly. As they set out for the village, Sasuke watched amusedly as Naruto took the lead, babbling about how great ramen was. It never ceased to amaze him how much energy and brightness the other boy could show, even after a long day and fighting.

For the second time that week, he found himself smiling slightly as he watched his new companion – and friend.

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Naruto lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling blankly. He was tired out after the day's events, and now he couldn't seem to get to sleep. In truth, he wished he were sharing a room, so that he could talk – he hated silence. He couldn't shake the feeling of uncertainty that he felt. Were the ones after him dishonourable enough to kill someone in their sleep? He doubted they were beacons of morality.

A knock on the door startled him, and he felt under his pillow for his knife, looking cautiously at the door. It slowly opened, and Sakura popped her head tentatively around the door.

"Naruto?" she whispered. He sighed in relief, slumping back onto his bed.

"Come in Sakura, what is it?" she entered the room, closing the door behind her, and sat on the edge of his bed. After about ten minutes, he decided she wasn't going to speak without prompting, so he cleared his throat loudly, making her jump, and looked at her expectantly.

"I couldn't sleep." She murmured, smiling slightly, but then her expression darkened. "Earlier, when we were fighting … was that …"

"The demon?" he finished, and she nodded. "I'm not sure," he said slowly, "I still had part control of body when it happened though." Sakura looked at him thoughtfully.

"That could be a good thing …" she said hesitantly, "if you're able to control the power of the demon while fighting – not to mention no killing of everyone in sight."

"It could be." He agreed. "But – I hope that doesn't mean that the demon come out more often. Sasuke and Ino are already suspicious."

"Yeah, I was surprised they didn't question us more about ourselves."

"Me too." Naruto nodded. They sat in silence for a while, thinking it over. After a while, Sakura turned awkwardly to look at him.

"Um … could I ... stay here tonight?" H looked surprised, but then smiled warmly.

"Sure." She smiled, and lay down next to him gratefully. She was glad that he didn't ask why, she wasn't sure what she would have said. The truth was, being alone in the room made reminded her too much of her home, which was why she couldn't sleep. But as she looked over to Naruto, lying contentedly next to her, she found herself smiling again.

Despite everything, she didn't regret her decision to leave.

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A figure watched through a window as the pink-haired girl entered into the room, walking over to the bed. Cautiously, he stretched his legs out, trying not to make a sound. He had been waiting for an opportunity for a while now, but his plan to attack the boy while sleeping had just fallen down. Damn demon, he thought angrily, dragging innocents into this.

He almost lost his balance on the tree branch as another person climbed up next to him quickly. He frowned at the newcomer, but received the usual stoic expression. Sighing, he leaned against the trunk, running a hand through scruffy brown hair.

"The demon is with the girl now." The other commented, watching the window.

"That's right." He replied irately. "How are we supposed to get it if it keeps involving others?"

"Calm down, Kiba," the other replied evenly, "our chance will come." Kiba glared at him.

"You keep saying that, but we haven't been able to get near it since that dark-haired boy starting travelling with him!" The other frowned, pushing dark glasses up as Kiba waved his hand around in a frustrated manner. "Now the Imperial Guard is involved as well!"

"Keep your voice down. The dark-haired boy is the Prince of Thunder, don't forget that." Kiba shrugged indifferently, and he continued. "They're more alert now that you've made our presence known."

"It wasn't my fault that he saw me." Kiba mumbled defiantly, and his eyes drifted back to the blond boy sitting up in his bed. "We need to do this soon, we can't risk Akatsuki getting to him." The other nodded in agreement.

"I haven't seen any of them trailing the demon, but I doubt they've given up. This is important to them." Kiba gave him a sideways glance.

"I think we might have to try stopping it, even if it means injuring the innocents." Shino frowned and shook his head.

"Our orders are clear. We don't want to harm innocents if we're killing the demon to save them." Kiba matched his frown, but remained quiet. They sat watching for a while in comfortable silence. Kiba yawned widely, earning a disapproving look. Kiba shrugged coolly, and rested his head on his hand.

The other sighed, and made to climb down again. "Shino?"

"What?"

"Have you uh – seen Akamaru?" Shino looked at him exasperatedly.

"That dog is going to get us caught, sometime, if you don't keep him disciplined." Kiba frowned, and folded his arms. Shino sighed again, and continued to climb down. Kiba turned back to the window, and scowled when he saw the girl lie down.

Well, plan failed, he thought wearily. He climbed down the tree slowly, so as to not make noise. They would have to trail the demon some more, and more urgently. If they didn't act soon, they would be too late to stop it.


	5. Chapter 5

Finally an update lol, as promised this chapter is longer, took a while to write! Anyway, enjoy and please review!

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Sasuke strode determinedly through the streets, followed by his three companions, as they searched desperately for a 'ramen' stand. He absolutely refused to ask for directions, especially since the village was so small. Besides, as he had mentioned to Naruto, the last thing they needed was to draw attention to themselves – one of the reasons why he wore a hood when travelling.

Naruto, however, had no such rationality. The clothes he wore were _orange_. An obnoxiously bright orange that screamed at people to look at it, and combined with his hair and loud voice, it made Sasuke wonder if Naruto's intention was to be noticed as much as he possibly could. From what he knew of him so far, that wouldn't surprise him.

Of course, Sasuke himself had not been overly keen on going to a 'ramen' stand. Ino and Sakura were not enthusiastic either. However, Naruto had described the simple dish so highly, and talked about it so ardently that Sasuke had given in, which he was now regretting as they wandered aimlessly.

When they had somehow arrived back at the inn, he decided that maybe it was a lost cause.

"Hey, this is the inn we started from," Naruto exclaimed. Sasuke nodded wearily, wondering where he had taken a wrong turn. He was snapped out of this however, by angry yapping from Naruto. At first he was sure it was coming from the blond, but then looked down to see a small white dog, bouncing slightly as it barked.

As he was about to suggest that they don't touch it in case of disease or the like, Naruto knelt quickly and rubbed the dog's head. The barking instantly died away, and the dog wagged its tail happily. Sasuke sighed, shrugging helplessly at the other two. A sudden shout startled them.

"Akamaru! Come … oh, sorry about that! He's ju-" The owner of the voice froze, and Sasuke looked across to see a young man, probably his own age. He had tousled brown hair, and two vertical red marks on each cheek. The expression on his face looked like a mix between surprise and fear, although he couldn't think why.

"Akamaru, eh?" Naruto said cheerfully. "He's cute! Yes he is." Naruto scratched the dog behind the ears affectionately, earning a satisfied yap. The owner continued to stare, giving a betrayed look to the little dog. He coughed, and stepped forward hesitantly.

"Um … we should – " He began, but was cut off by Naruto.

"Hey, are you from around here?" He asked, smiling.

"Uh … not really … I'm just … visiting." The other answered unsteadily.

"Do you think you could help us out? We can't find the ramen stand – do you mind showing us where it is?" He gave Naruto a dumbfounded look, before blinking and nodding slowly.

"Great! Let's go!" Naruto picked up Akamaru, and followed after the rather dazed owner of the dog. Sasuke walked beside him, giving the blond a doubtful look, but he just shrugged, and grinned joyfully at the thought of the forthcoming ramen. Sasuke watched the boy in front curiously – there was something odd about him, and not just the weird markings painted on his face. Naruto leaned over to him.

"He's a little slow, don't you think?" Naruto whispered conspiratorially.

"Idiot," Sasuke grunted in reply, before smirking, "you two have something in common then." Naruto gave him an exaggerated look of hurt, putting his hand on his chest.

"Here it is." They looked forward to see that they were at a small shop with a colourful R-A-M-E-N sign. Sasuke frowned, wondering how they'd missed it earlier. Naruto let out a delighted gasp, and ran in, still holding the small dog, whose owner watched this with wide eyes. Naruto shouted his order at the old woman behind the counter, and then turned to grin widely.

"I've ordered us all miso ramen!" Sasuke frowned, but Naruto slapped a hand on his back. "Trust me, Sasuke, you'll love it! Oh and, I've ordered you and Akamaru some too, to say thank you!" he said, addressing the dog's owner, who looked even more taken aback.

"Oh t-thanks then." Naruto grinned and then tilted his head slightly.

"Oh - I never asked your name!" He exclaimed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"It's … Kiba."

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki! This is Sakura, Sasuke and Ino." He said, gesturing to each of them. They nodded at Kiba politely and Naruto motioned to an empty table, bouncing slightly as he walked. Sasuke watched despairingly as he proceeded to draw the attention of all of the customers. He was shocked at how easily Naruto had become friendly with Kiba, as though it were the most natural thing in the world to buy strangers ramen.

When the ramen came, Naruto instantly quieted, unable to speak as he shovelled the noodles into his mouth at a rather sickening pace. He finished in under a minute, slurping the last of the soup from the bowl, setting it down, and calling for another bowl. The rest watched in wonder. Naruto gave them a strange look.

"What?" He glanced at Sasuke frowningly. "You haven't tried it yet! Try it, it's real good." Sasuke obligingly took his chopsticks, and followed Naruto's example in eating, at a slower pace of course. Then he blinked – the simple dish was good, very good in fact. Though, needless to say, he would never tell Naruto that.

"It's not too bad." He said disinterestedly. Naruto gave him a glare, not having received to answer he wanted, but quickly forgot about it when a second bowl was placed in front of him. Sasuke hid a smile at his enthusiasm towards the food. As he slowly ate the rest of his ramen, he took another look at Kiba, who was looking stunned and more than a bit uncomfortable with the situation he was in.

He shrugged to himself – maybe he had already eaten, and was just joining them out of politeness. Beside Kiba, Akamaru stuffed his face into a small ramen bowl hungrily, tail wagging. Kiba watched the dog disapprovingly.

Sasuke concentrated on savouring the taste of the ramen, careful not to allow any pleasure of doing so show on his face, although Ino gave him a knowing look. When he'd finished, he resisted the urge to ask for another bowl, instead settling with watching the others with a bored expression.

"All right." Sakura said at length, excitement in her voice. "Now we go to the hot springs!" Sasuke cursed under his breath, having hoped she'd forgotten about that. What was exciting about sitting in hot water? Naruto didn't seem too troubled though, being more concerned about not having a fourth helping of ramen. When Ino and Sakura had dragged him away from the stand, Naruto turned to Kiba.

"Do you happen to know where the hot springs are, too?" Kiba, who had previously been backing away slowly to escape, stopped and, seeing Naruto's hopeful smile, nodded reluctantly.

They followed him through the winding streets, and Sasuke frowned as Naruto chatted energetically to Kiba in front of him. He frowned even more as Naruto put his arm around the other boy's shoulders, apparently talking about ramen. Was physical contact necessary for conversations about ramen? Sasuke was sure it wasn't necessary – but here Naruto was, arm around this total stranger, the idiot.

Realising what he was thinking, he shook his head. He was just annoyed with the blond for getting so friendly with strangers of course, which didn't help their situation. It certainly wasn't to do with any other sort of emotion towards the bonding. Anyway, he thought, it was hardly even bonding – he was just overreacting.

"Sasuke, are you okay?" Sakura was gazing at him concernedly, and he realised he'd been mumbling under his breath. He gave her a glare before watching the two leading them again. He'd have to have a talk with Naruto about trusting people.

When they finally arrived at the hot springs, Naruto released a very pale Kiba, thanking him for his help. Kiba nodded to him with a forced smile and retreated, clutching a protesting Akamaru tightly. He looked back cautiously, but the group were now arguing over who was going to pay.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he slumped against a wall, mentally exhausted from the last couple of hours.

How had he gotten into that mess? It was entirely the dog's fault, he reasoned, casting a glare at Akamaru, but sighed again – he couldn't be angry with him. He wondered why he had not refused the demon – probably shock more than anything.

That was certainly not what he had expected from the demon though, the friendliness and exuberance. Though that could be one of the reasons it was so dangerous?

After going through the ordeal, he still had no further information that would be of use to them, the only useful thing coming from it being a free meal. That was one ramen-obsessed demon, he thought, grinning to himself.

The grin instantly dropped as a shadow was cast over him from behind.

"Kiba …" Shino said ominously. Kiba gulped, and slowly turned to face his teammate. This wasn't good.

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Naruto sat calmly in the hot spring, nursing the bruises that he'd received when he accidentally walked into the girl's changing room. He sighed, wincing as his hand ran over a particularly large one on his abdomen. It wasn't as if he'd meant to go there, how was he supposed to know that the small picture meant girls only? It was worth it for the look on Sakura's face though, he thought, a grin creeping across his face.

Whoever had the idea of separating the springs into a male side and a female side was obviously a prude, and female. Now, because of that fact, he was going to be stuck with Sasuke for the duration – and the Uchiha prince was not a good conversationalist. In fact, they'd probably sit in complete silence if it were up to him.

When Sasuke did decide to show up, Naruto found himself looking intently through the mist for his form to fade into view. He swallowed, his throat dry, as Sasuke casually stepped down into the spring, a small towel wrapped around his waist. It was wrapped so loosely around that it looked more as though it were just resting, waiting to slip off.

Even through the steam, he could make out the well-defined, slender form, still pale, but not as much so as when he'd been washed up from the river. Then the body had seemed smaller and more fragile – but now he moved with a grace and finesse that suggested he was anything but fragile. He watched, enraptured, until a low voice broke him out of his reverie.

"What are you staring at?" Naruto looked up nervously and met the prince's onyx eyes. The confused expression on his face slowly dissolved into a smirk. Naruto's looked away quickly, and could almost feel the smug look. That bastard, he thought, thankful for the steam hiding his blush.

He hoped that Sasuke wouldn't realise, but his mind quickly reminded him that the prince had been a target for enormous female attention for years – of course he'd realise when someone was looking at him like _that_ – and now he was probably going to taunt and goad him about it at every opportunity. He hoped that wasn't going to be the case.

Sasuke took a seat beside him, but didn't sit too close. He stretched liberally, his arm almost brushing the blonde. Naruto gritted his teeth, and knew he needed to make conversation quickly to get out of the situation.

"So …" he began, glad when Sasuke gave a noncommittal look that denoted his attention, "what's the Fire country like? All I really know is that it's big and rich." Sasuke raised his eyebrows, and sighed, resting his head back against a rock.

"Well, it is one of the major five powers in the world, well known for its prosperity and military might. The last king was, I suppose, one of the most powerful men in the world. Not that that helped him much in the end." Naruto tilted his head.

"What do you mean?"

"He was killed in his own city." Sasuke replied gravely. "There was a rebellion, and the capital was attacked during a major event. I don't know the details of what happened, but I know they managed to kill the king and take out a large portion of the military stationed there. It was devastating for the country, in many ways, particularly the sudden vulnerability." He paused, before shrugging slightly. "Luckily, they managed to make it look less disastrous. If the other powers knew of their sudden weakness, they would have been attacked before the new ruler was selected." He went silent, apparently in deep thought.

"What's the new ruler like?" Naruto asked, absorbing the information eagerly.

"To be honest, I have no idea. I knew the old king, since he was the one who made an alliance with us. If Queen Tsunade is anything like him, she will definitely be a great person." He turned to Naruto seriously. "My concern is whether she will honour the alliance to the Land of Thunder, or take advantage of the weakened state of the kingdom." His voice dropped to a murmur. "More importantly, whether she will believe in me, or my brother."

As Naruto opened his mouth to speak, a sudden crash resounded around the springs from the female side, and after that a noisy splash – followed by loud shrieking.

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Kiba crawled pitifully up to the waiting form of his teammate, wincing as pressure was put onto fresh cuts and bruises. Shino watched him with a raised eyebrow and a disdainful expression.

"How did you manage to fall in?" he asked disapprovingly. Kiba scowled up at him.

"It wasn't my fault that –ow– the wood was rotten." He growled, dragging himself to his feet. "But thanks for you concern." Shino shrugged coolly, adjusting his dark glasses.

"Did you find out anything useful?" Kiba shook his head glumly. "Nothing at all?"

"Not much we don't already know." He replied, sighing, then grinned lopsidedly. "Though apparently they're going to dress Naruto in pink frilly dresses!" he laughed. Shino, however, didn't see the humour.

"Naruto?" he said coldly. Kiba gave him a confused look, before he realised his mistake.

"The uh d-demon that is." He blurted hastily. Shino narrowed his eyes.

"Don't get personal with the target, Kiba. You know it'll just make this harder." Kiba nodded, hanging his head. "That's all?" Kiba straightened, thinking hard.

"Well, they are definitely heading for the Land of Fire. Hmm … I think they will be going to Konoha, from what they said."

"The capital? Must be something to do with the prince." He paused in thought, before shrugging again. "No matter, we won't let it get that far." Kiba looked up, frowning.

"What do you mean?"

"If they leave the country, our mission will become a lot more complicated. We have to act before they cross the border." Kiba nodded slowly as this sunk in.

"Understood."

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"Kiba a pervert, eh? Never saw that one coming." Naruto chuckled to himself as they walked.

"Yeah," Sakura said, shaking her head in disbelief, "I can't stand people who would watch you in the springs like that."

"I agree," Sasuke said, smirking. "The worst are the ones who don't even bother to hide it." Naruto froze beside him, but Sakura and Ino didn't seem to notice, both nodding. He smirked at the furious look from Naruto. The look he had been given at each remark he had made since they had left the hot springs.

"I wonder what pushes them to do stuff like that anyway." Ino said casually. He knew he just had to take this opportunity presented to him.

"Well they are probably of low intelligence," he murmured, unaffected by the intensifying glare. "Maybe the upbringing as well – parents are irresponsible, let them do whatever they want," He smirked slightly, "not bothering to stop them from becoming such immature perverts." He glanced at Naruto for the glare he knew would come.

What he saw on Naruto's face, however, was not anger, or murderous intent. He looked … confused. Confused and slightly irritated. He watched in surprise as Naruto's face first formed a snarl, and then changed to look quite blank. That was an interesting display of emotion, he thought, bewildered.

Then Naruto looked at him. Sasuke's eyes widened a little at the stare – just like the rest of his face, the eyes were not angry. They were just cold, and a little vacant. Apparently, he was annoyed, and in deep thought. The latter was certainly uncharacteristic for Naruto. Was it something he had said?

Ino cut into this silence from both of them by declaring that they needed to get moving towards the border, having wasted the morning in the village. Nodding in agreement, Sasuke, after having pried her off of his arm, motioned for her and Sakura to take the lead again, and walked beside the still silent Naruto.

The route they needed to take was through a mountainous area, with just a single road leading to the border of the Fire country. Of course, with the ever-present threat of the Imperial Guard and the masked pursuers, a well-travelled and obvious road would not be a viable option.

Thus how they came to be trudging across rocky terrain through the uninhabited countryside, having only a vague idea of which direction they needed to travel.

Sakura and Ino had noticed the strange behaviour of their two companions, and discussed it while they walked, concerned about their precious prince.

"Do you think Naruto is ill or something?" Ino asked uncertainly. Sakura shook her head.

"If he were ill he'd do a lot more complaining. Besides, there is definitely something going on with Sasuke too."

"Yeah," she agreed, "like he's worried, and Naruto is mad at him, or something." Neither of them needed to mention that this was strange behaviour for both of them.

"They were okay before we went to the hot springs." Sakura murmured thoughtfully. "Maybe something happened there." Ino shrugged slightly, still looking ahead. Suddenly, both of them stumbled, exchanging an anxious glance. They had both been struck by the same thought of a certain possibility.

They laughed nervously, shrugging it off quickly. It was stupid of course, anddefinitely nota possibility. Sasuke and Naruto didn't even like each other that much. Without saying a word, the girls silently agreed that it was a ridiculous idea, and wouldn't be thought of again.

Sasuke watched confusedly as they both looked at him and Naruto warily, and began to find it annoying when the two continued to throw glances at them throughout the journey.

Through the several hours they travelled over the rough ground, Naruto had barely said a word,not even brightening when he was eating. Any attempt to talk to him resulted in the same cold stare, even if it wasn't as bad as it had been.

Sasuke frowned, watching the blond from the corner of his eye. Shouting and attacks he had anticipated – but silence was definitely the last thing he expected of Naruto, especially an angry Naruto. He refused to acknowledge a new wave of guilt washing over him, instead focusing on the problem.

Maybe he had gone too far with the teasing? Even if that was the case – impassivity was a very unusual reaction. Could it be that Naruto hated him that much? Or just didn't care?

This thought gave him an unpleasant feeling – the feeling being vaguely familiar. He had only known Naruto for a few days, but he had formed a close attachment? It was a shock that there had been an attachment at all. Sasuke hadn't had a genuine close attachment since … Itachi. He hadn't had a real friend since his brother had so badly betrayed the family.

Now, this 'friend' probably hated him, or worse, was going to refuse to acknowledge him altogether. The unpleasant feeling in his stomach worsened, and he cursed inwardly when he felt the urge to ask for forgiveness to make it subside.

Itachi, for all of his insane tendencies, was right about one thing – attachments made one weak.

He shivered at the thought of Itachi being right, and hoped it was a one-off. Bringing himself back to the present, he scanned the now darkening landscape. They needed to find a place to stop for the night. Maybe there he could make up with Naruto.

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Naruto followed apathetically as his companions sought shelter for the night. He probably wouldn't be able to sleep – not that he was tired anyway. No matter how hard he tried to push it away, all he could think about was Iruka. What Sasuke had said had made a seemingly endless stream of memories and feelings that he'd bottled up.

Though he couldn't blame the Uchiha completely – he was just being a bastard. The comment about his parents had been hurtful, and unexpected, but Sasuke didn't know about his parents, or anything about his past. He was angry of course, but he didn't want to talk too much, not while he felt like this.

When they stumbled across a small cave to rest for the night, he drew out his makeshift sleeping bag and water flask, intending to be alone at the back of the cave. However, Sasuke, in a surprisingly uncharacteristic move, laid out his own bed beside him, and sat watching him, apparently wanting to talk.

When Naruto finally looked at him directly, he leaned forward almost anxiously.

"Naruto, I'm really sorry about the stuff I said, and I take it back." Naruto blinked, staring at him in disbelief. An earnest apology? Something was definitely wrong. Could it be that Sasuke actually felt emotions like guilt?

"Uh … yeah … no problem." Naruto turned away, not wanting to talk further. Sasuke watched his back unhappily, apparently unappeased by the unconvincing acceptance. But, not wanting to push his luck, he lay down, after ordering the girls not to try to sneak any closer to him.

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Naruto woke up covered in sweat, and breathing heavily. It had been a long time since he had had such a vivid nightmare. Although he hadn't recognised the images, he knew that what he had seen were the demon's memories. The thought scared him, but not as much as the nightmare itself. The destruction, the death, and the blood … his head span with the images, and he closed his eyes tightly, causing tears to fall.

"Naruto, are you okay?" Naruto froze. Apparently, Sasuke had been talking to him, and, more alarmingly – was holding him. He opened looked up slowly to meet dark eyes, filled with concern. He could only stare for a moment, barely realising that he was hugging him back tightly.

He opened his mouth to speak, but was assaulted by more images of the demon's memories. His head felt like it was going to burst, pain shooting through it. He could barely breathe, the stuffy atmosphere in the cave suppressing him.

He had to get out, and fast. He pulled away forcefully from the lightly blushing Sasuke, stumbling backwards. Sasuke stood quickly support him, but his hand was swatted away heatedly.

"I was just trying to help, idiot." Sasuke said irately, though his voice was still laced with concern. Naruto glared up at him, growling. Sakura and Ino had been woken by the noise, and looked on in confusion.

"Huh? Naruto?" Ino murmured sleepily, and looked from the blond to Sasuke and back. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" he hollered, clutching his head with one hand. When she attempted to enquire further, he cut her off with another growl, and stomped out of the cave, grabbing his pack.

"Naruto, where are you going?" Sakura asked worriedly.

"To get some fruit or something." He mumbled in reply, and wandered off, leaving the three in bewilderment.

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Shino and Kiba watched the boy sitting in the tree with a mixture of confusion and elation. He was by himself, picking at the fruit on the tree angrily.

"He's finally alone!" Kiba said incredulously. "What a perfect opportunity!" Shino nodded in agreement, looking around the area suspiciously.

"Maybe it's a trap?" He suggested coolly. Kiba looked around also, before grinning at his teammate.

"Maybe it isn't." Shino studied the blond thoughtfully, before nodding at Kiba.

Of course, there was the problem of how to approach it. If they did it too directly, they would leave him an option to attempt escape. Also, there was the glaring problem that he was up in a tree, and they were without ranged weapons, and stuck on the ground, therefore at a clear disadvantage.

After much debate, they decided the easiest course of action was for Kiba to coax him down from the tree, and Shino attack him from behind. Satisfied, Kiba made from his hiding place to walk towards the tree. But as he did so, he suddenly froze.

Naruto, who had previously been straining to reach a distant piece of fruit, now waved his arms, trying desperately to balance. Just as it seemed he had righted himself, he slipped, sending him headfirst towards the ground. Kiba watched in sheer disbelief as he spun in the air, hitting his head off of the tree trunk, and landed in an ungraceful pile on the grass below. There he lay, unmoving.

After a minute of staring, Kiba stepped forward tentatively towards him, Shino following his example. When they reached the unconscious boy, they exchanged a look, lost for words from what they had just seen. Naruto had unwittingly done half of their work for them.

Finally, Shino gestured to the sword strapped onto Kiba's back, and he nodded in understanding. Drawing the sword, he approached the demon boy. He pointed the sword towards its chest, and scanned the body thoughtfully

"Tough luck, being a demon, eh?" He said to Shino, who regarded him impassively. "I mean, he didn't ask for it or anything."

"Are you going to do it?" Kiba frowned at him.

"Of course I am." He turned back to the blond, raising his sword, and looked down uncertainly. Shino's eye began to twitch as he waited.

"You're stalling." He said exasperatedly. Kiba looked offended, and shook his head.

"I'm not, I was just … well …" Shino gave a low growl.

"Why don't you do it if you think it's so easy?"

"Are you too scared to do it then?"

"No!" Kiba said indignantly. He turned back determinedly, swallowing.

"Yo!"

Both jumped in shock at the voice from just behind them. They spun around to see a man watching them through one eye – a headband covering the other. The newcomer ran his hand through his silver hair, apparently waiting for some response. Kiba recovered first.

"Kakashi! Don't scare us like that!" The silver-haired man shrugged, eye curving up in a smile.

"Long time eh? Kiba, Shino." They glared back at him.

"What are you doing here?" Shino asked.

"Well, interesting story that." He replied easily. At the two scowls directed his way, he gave an unconcerned shrug. "I was in the area, and I ran into Kurenai and Asuma at the village. They told me about your mission." His eyes flicked to the unconscious boy. "I was heading this way anyway, so they asked me to check up on you."

They looked unimpressed by the idea of being checked on – especially by a non-member. Kakashi watched them amusedly.

"Well," he said finally, "it looks like the mission is going well, then?" Kiba glanced down at the sword in his hand, before nodding hurriedly. Shino motioned to the unmoving body.

"Yes, we managed to subdue it effectively." He responded, giving a meaningful glance at Kiba.

"That's good." Kakashi said shortly. Sighing, he walked over to Naruto's slumped form, and looked it up and down.

"So," he murmured to himself, nudging it softly with his foot, "this boy is the vessel of the great Kyuubi."

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	6. Chapter 6

Kakashi examined the motionless body cautiously, as if expecting it to jump up and bite him at any moment. It seemed to be a normal teenage boy, not much younger than Sasuke. But the whisker scars and hair alone told him it was the demon, having heard the description from his old friends. He wondered how he had got into this – demon holders weren't his concern. No, the thing he was worrying about was a certain prince.

Despite his training, he had still got separated when they fell into the river. Ino and Sasuke, being younger and less able-bodied, were carried away quickly, and he could see little resistance from them. His first thought was to follow them, and let himself be taken by the current.

When he saw where the current was taking him, however, he decided quickly that he could … catch them up better from the land. Yes. Unable to help them either way from going down the waterfall, he had let loose his heavy pack, putting all of his effort into getting to the opposite bank, where the soldiers couldn't see him.

Now, for an elite bodyguard like himself, this should have been a rather basic task, but there were factors weighing him down. Firstly, he was already exhausted physically from the running that he had done. Secondly, he was weighed down with his armour pieces, and his thick clothes that had quickly absorbed a large amount of water – both of which were hard enough to get off without being in an about-to-go-down-a-waterfall situation.

Thirdly, he had to ensure that the two Icha Icha books he had recovered from his pack, that were slightly damp, did not get completely soaked, and thus ruined. This resulted in a one-armed, awkward and very strained swim to the riverbank.

He had made it, books intact, and after a short rest headed for the bottom of the waterfall, on a land route. When he arrived, there was no sign of them or their packs. This had depressed him immensely. There were more books that hadn't been recovered – what if they hadn't survived?

Despite the fatigue of his companions, he knew they'd be able to survive something like this – and would be severely disappointed in them if they didn't. For all he knew, they could have climbed out already and be searching for him.

So, rather than search aimlessly, he had headed in the route which they were originally headed. Sasuke and Ino would do the same, and they would be able to meet up on the journey, or if not at least at the destination, that being Konoha.

So, with confidence, he had made his way in the direction of the next village on the route. When he finally arrived, he found the nearest inn and slept for a whole day. Rather than be disappointed in his own laziness, as many might have, he had cheerfully stayed an extra night so that he could catch up on reading.

After all, he justified himself, since they had left the castle, he had had few opportunities in which to read, guarding the stubborn prince coming first.

As luck would have it, the next day he ran into a couple of old friends. To be more accurate, he caught sight of them, quickly hid, and proceeded to stalk them to discover what they were doing in the insignificant village. They were, however, being overly secretive, whispering and choosing non-public places in which to do such whispering.

Being none the wiser, he had finally given in and revealed his presence to his two stunned friends. After a few minutes of staring, he politely asked them whether they were devious traitors or not. This didn't bode well with Kurenai, a black-haired, red-eyed and very temperamental woman. Asuma had barely been able to restrain her from strangling the bemused Kakashi, even though he could have defended himself well enough.

Once such pleasantries had been exchanged, they found local bar, and talked of old times. Kakashi had cut this short, however – discussing 'old times' made him feel, well, _old_. He wasn't ready to feel old. Hell, he was only 33!

So, over his book, he had asked what they were doing in the village. When they explained they were seeking information on Akatsuki, and had subordinates chasing a demon nearby, he had dropped the book in favour of a stronger drink and paid full attention to them.

He had then explained his own mission, and it was their turn to be shocked. He was guarding the famous/infamous Sasuke Uchiha, the 'Prince of Thunder'. He didn't want to put in much more detail, telling them that he was going to meet up with him soon – conveniently missing out the part about losing him in a raging river and seeing him go over a waterfall.

Their mission however interested him greatly – especially the demon part. The demon, they explained, was sealed inside an 18-year-old boy. They had obtained information from spies that Akatsuki, who had previously been somewhat inactive, planned to use these demon vessels in order to do something that they had determined was very bad, and of great scale (as evil plots generally are).

Despite the vague information, they decided that rather than let the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon (or for short 'Kyuubi)' fall into the hands of Akatsuki, they would need to kill it. Kakashi had been shocked by that conclusion, but they then explained that not only were they stopping Akatsuki getting such a powerful demon, they would be killing a possible threat to many innocent lives if the demon were to ever break free. They guessed that the demon would not willingly let itself be locked away or cooperate.

Kakashi, never having met a demon before, was immensely curious. Although he never voiced the curiosity, or indeed offered any help, he soon found himself being ordered to ensure that the subordinates were close to accomplishing their objective. Ordinarily, he would have refused – but Asuma and Kurenai had been drinking, were in a bad mood, and had not slept in 2 days – and he did not want to die just yet. After all, as he had previously reflected, he had so much of his life ahead of him.

The direction he was told to search in was, coincidentally, close to the route he was planning to travel himself. After a sad, and very hasty parting with his two old friends, he wasted no time in hurrying to the location.

It was not hard to find the two he was searching for – apparently they had stayed in a single location to attempt an ambush. So he was overjoyed when he didn't need to put more effort into finding them, and decided that sneaking up on them would be fun.

He had not seen Kiba or Shino for about 5 years, when he had last met with their guardians, and it seemed the perfect way to greet them.

What he hadn't expected was that Kiba was already completely white, and was standing, sword drawn, over a blond boy with whiskered cheeks. Being the genius he was, he realised the situation instantly, but chose to take this slowly. They were, unexpectedly, very rude to him. A hug or a warm greeting for an old friend wasn't too much to ask right?

But there was no such friendliness, and he had clearly interrupted something important – that something being the killing of an innocent person, one that happened to be a demon holder, who was lying unconscious before them. Well, that wouldn't do, he thought to himself, sighing inwardly. No matter what he had been informed of by his friends, killing without questioning was wrong.

"I suppose now you will take the demon to the border village and meet up with the rest?" However, they looked horrified at the suggestion. "What is it?"

"Didn't they tell you about how dangerous this demon is?" Shino asked, as if speaking to a child. Kakashi frowned.

"He's just a demon holder, and a teenage boy – how dangerous can he be?" Kiba looked at his feet, whilst Shino shook his head, replying dispassionately.

"That innocent demon holder killed 12 people in its home village." Kakashi fought to maintain his calm appearance for a second. Twelve villagers? Maybe it really is justified to kill it, he thought somewhat sadly. However, his opinion was changed again, at another statement.

"It was in self defence, though." Kiba defended quietly, earning a glare from his team-mate." Kakashi nodded as he took this in. At least it wasn't in cold blood. The demon deserved a fair judgement, at the very least. But it was starting to get to him, the new demon problem – it wasn't his decision to make, and he had other things to worry about, such as the future of the country.

A distant shout echoed through the woods, and he was instantly alert.

"Naruto!" The voice was unfamiliar, a girl's voice, and he wondered what someone would be doing out in the wilderness so far from the main road.

"Naruto, where are you?" This shout was closer, and very familiar. He smiled to himself – meeting Sasuke here was good luck. But who was Naruto? He turned around to face the direction of the shouts, not noticing that Kiba and Shino had frozen beside him.

He watched thoughtfully as a pink-haired girl half-stumbled into view. Sasuke had a new travelling companion? This was confirmed as a hooded figure and a familiar blonde-haired girl came up behind the pink-haired girl in question. As his eyes flicked to the pink-haired girl, he noticed her own eyes were wide, and directed towards the body on the ground.

Then it clicked. This 'Naruto' was the demon boy. How did Sasuke manage to end up with that sort of company? He realised quickly that this would put the prince in direct opposition with the boys next to him. Now this was an awkward situation. So, in a moment of brilliance, he reached into his pack to remove his secret weapon – Icha Icha Paradise.

The rather unusual act of pulling out a book did in fact have several advantages. Firstly (and least importantly) it annoyed everyone, and thus part of the frustration would be directed to him. Also, it allowed him to feign disinterest to the point of appearing not to be watching the situation, while he actually was watching like a hawk.

Most importantly, he could use the act so that he did not have to pick a side. Naturally, his loyalty lay with the prince he'd sworn to protect, but opposing Kiba and Shino wasn't an agreeable option either (an image of an angry Kurenai flashed in his mind).

So, he needed to keep them calm, and mostly angry towards him, so that he could defuse and solve the situation. How hard could it be?

"Now, everyone, I think this is a little misunderstanding …" He didn't have a chance to continue, however.

"What did you do to Naruto?" The pink-haired girl demanded, eyes still on the blond boy. Kiba and Shino didn't answer, apparently having their own inner arguments. Suddenly she rushed forward, and Ino gasped, jumping forward to grab the screaming girl.

This snapped Kiba out of his thoughts, and in such a moment of confusion and indecision, there was one thing that was for certain – and that was his orders and his duty. Tightening his grip on the sword, he held it over the body. Kakashi dropped his book, deciding that that was enough assessment of the situation.

"Kiba! Wait, you can't do-" Everyone froze as Kiba brought the sword down firmly – directly into Naruto's chest. It was one of those odd slow-motion moments, where time tries to drag out a bad occasion for the benefit of those watching. Kakashi watched the action in terror, unsure of what to do. This was not going to plan at all – how could one defuse this?

This worry was instantly heightened as his eyes rested on the previously quiet Uchiha. Kakashi had never seen much emotion on his face before, but now it was painfully clear. The expression went from shock, to sadness, and then to anger. He snarled, and the older man could only watch in horror, as the dark eyes now became a crimson red, with strange black dots.

Sharingan – a bloodline limit, the rare ability found only within the royal Uchiha line. Most notable for its clarity of perception, but rumoured to have other abilities, it was widely respected – and feared. Few had ever fought against the Sharingan and survived.

The red eyes landed on the offender – Kiba. Kakashi felt panic swell up in him. There was little he could do to stop Sasuke now, and that meant that the subject of the prince's fury was going to die, unpleasantly.

He could only observe as the next few moments of the disaster played out. Sakura, still screaming, ran towards Naruto, not stopped by Ino, Kiba or Shino. She collapsed beside him, sobbing and examining the wound despairingly. Meanwhile, Sasuke drew his sword, and ran towards Kiba.

The distance between the two was covered in seconds; Sasuke's form almost a blur. He swung his sword down towards his terrified opponent. Even though Kiba managed to block, the sheer force of the blow made him stumble back. He attempted a counterattack, not realising it was futile against Sharingan. With almost superhuman speed and skill, Sasuke parried the attack, immediately lunging at Kiba's weak point.

Kiba yelped in pain as the blade slashed his side, losing his balance. The loss of balance, however, was what managed to save him. As Sasuke attempted a stab at Kiba's head, the boy fell backwards, clutching his side. Shino made to go forward, but Kakashi stopped him, and drew his own sword as Sasuke loomed over his enemy.

The only way he could save Kiba and attempt to calm Sasuke down was letting the anger play out a little by fighting. So as Sasuke raised his sword again, Kakashi's sword flashed in a defensive movement over the boy. Sasuke attempted the attack anyway, and Kakashi gave a powerful kick to push him away. Sasuke however, managing to perceive the attack while not even concentrating on Kakashi, blocked with his arm, the rest of his body not even recoiling.

"Sasuke, you have to stop! Killing them won't help!" He doubted talking would solve it, but it was worth a try. As predicted, Sasuke met his eyes in challenge, not showing any sign of listening to the words. Sword locked with Kakashi's, he gave a simple spin-kick to his old teacher's torso, growling as Kiba began trying to crawl away.

Damnit, Kakashi thought as he lunged for Sasuke to distract him, how long will he be able to keep his Sharingan up?

Sasuke sidestepped easily, using the position to strike at the base of the sword – knocking it out of Kakashi's hands. He looked to Kiba, who had stopped crawling, and was gazing half-lidded, on the verge of unconsciousness.

Shino, seeing the situation his teammate was in, ignored Kakashi's orders and ran to help. However, Ino intercepted him, blocking the way. Knowing he was no match for her head on, he reluctantly halted, hoping Kakashi could stop Sasuke.

"Sasuke?"

Everyone turned in shock to Naruto, who had opened his eyes and was watching through heavy eyes. Sakura gasped, and looked down at the wound in his chest. Blood covered his shirt and the ground around him, but the wound didn't actually look that deep – or as deep as it was.

She watched with wide eyes as the wound glowed and the blood loss slowed gradually. Her first instinct was to jump back in horror, but her concern for her friend overtook that, and she leaned forward to cover the wound from sight.

"Naruto you're ok!" She said, embracing him carefully.

"Yeah," he said weakly, coughing up some blood. "What happened anyway?" Naruto was oblivious to what had happened, and looked back to the now unconscious Kiba, and to Sasuke, who was looking at him with a blank expression. "What … Kiba …"

"He was the one who attacked you," Sasuke murmured in reply, looking slightly lost. He looked over to see Naruto's reaction, but the blond had passed out from blood loss. Shino hurried over to Kiba to check his wounds, whilst Ino and Sasuke checked Naruto.

Kakashi rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. At least they weren't trying to kill each other, though. He glanced over to Naruto frowningly. There was no way he could have taken such a deep wound in the chest and been able to survive – it had to have been healed by the demon. He smiled slightly – that was a lucky kid.

He heard the girl tell Sasuke and Ino that it had been a shallow wound, and had covered it with a cloth. Of course, he thought, if she travelled with him she'd know about the demon. Though, apparently, Sasuke and Ino were oblivious. She must not have thought too much about it – they would have to explain why Naruto was the target of an assassination either way.

"He should be ok," Sakura informed them, sighing. "He needs a place to rest and recover." Shino looked up from tending to his own companion.

"Kiba needs medical attention, but it's not fatal." He said quietly to Kakashi. Sasuke, apparently having forgotten about them, now stood and drew his sword.

"No," he said calmly to Shino, "he won't. Because I'll kill both of you." Shino drew his own cautiously, looking to Kakashi for help. Ino and Sakura, however, seemed to understand the situation a little, and made to stop Sasuke.

"Now Sasuke," Kakashi said in his usual lazy voice, "he was just doing his job. There's no reason to fight at the moment."

"No reason?" Sasuke said disbelievingly, gesturing towards Naruto, "Naruto could have died!" Kakashi appeared to consider the statement.

"That's right." He replied dully. Sasuke growled at him menacingly, and he sighed. "But maybe there's more to this than what's on the surface … did you consider why they tried to kill Naruto?" Sakura's head shot up, and she stared at Kakashi with wide eyes, as if begging him not to say anything, but he ignored her.

Sasuke frowned at the question. Why did they try to kill him? After all, he was just a teen travelling to visit relatives – the only reason someone would attack would be for money, or to get to Sasuke himself. Naruto was unconscious when he was stabbed, so they could have taken his money then. Apart from that, Kakashi was involved, so it was likely to be something to do with him.

"Obviously, it was to get to me – how could you accept that?" he replied harshly. Kakashi smiled from under his mask.

"Not everything revolves around you, Sasuke." Sasuke stared at him in confusion. Well, he already knew Kakashi was crazy, why should this be surprising?

Seeing the confused look on the prince's face, he sighed in resignation.

"They were ordered to kill the one named Naruto. It was nothing to do with you." Sasuke looked even more confused, looking back at Naruto and Sakura. Sakura looked away, focusing on the unconscious boy.

"What … why would they want to kill Naruto?" he asked more quietly.

"He is wanted by Akatsuki." He replied, deliberately dragging out the explanation to help it sink in. Sasuke looked back at Naruto again in disbelief.

"What are you talking about?" he demanded, frustrated. Kakashi shrugged, scratching his head.

"Well, Naruto there is a _Jinchuuriki,_" he said, partly enjoying the perplexed look he was receiving. "A human who has had a demon sealed inside him at birth." Sasuke stared at him.

"Oh." Kakashi frowned. Just 'oh'? He searched Sasuke's face for some sign of a real reaction, but he just looked contemplative.

"You … don't mind?" He asked hesitantly. Sasuke looked up and shook his head slightly, opening his mouth to reply. Before he could speak, Ino jumped forward, having heard Naruto's situation.

"That's terrible!" she exclaimed, and Kakashi looked at her questioningly. "All this time we've been travelling with him and he's … a _demon_!" she spat. She glared at Naruto as if he was awake, hatred in her eyes. Sakura immediately jumped up.

"You have no right to say that about Naruto!" she yelled. "You've got no idea what he's been through!" Ino snorted.

"I don't care what he's been through, he's still a demon!" she stood by Sasuke protectively, still glaring at Naruto. "It's my duty to protect the prince from – things like that." Sakura looked ready to strangle the blonde-haired girl, but then Sasuke spoke up.

"I don't need protecting from Naruto." He said quietly. "He's just a normal person." Ino turned to him disbelievingly.

"How can you say that? He's a damn jin- … jinchi …"

"Jinchuuriki." Kakashi supplied.

"Yes!" she said, "a demon thingy!" Sasuke now glared at her.

"Is that his fault?" Ino blinked, and then growled in annoyance.

"I have no idea – but whoever's fault it was, he's a demon, and demons they-" she turned to Kakashi for support, "they kill people and stuff!"

"Humans kill people too." Kakashi said, shrugging. "In fact humans kill a lot more people through petty wars and disagreements. At least demons aren't so unpredictable." She scowled at him, and looked for someone to support her. Her eyes fell on Shino, who was watching coolly.

"You know how dangerous this thing is right? That's why you were told to kill it." Shino adjusted his glasses, keeping his voice level.

"I was ordered to kill it because of how dangerous a weapon it might be in the hands of Akatsuki." He gestured to Naruto, "From what I have seen, this is a normal boy, only dangerous to his enemies." Ino sent him a glare, which he casually returned.

"It's not right, to judge someone so quickly like that." He continued, "how would you feel if people hated you for something beyond you control – such as your hair or eye colour?" she made to shout back at him, but wasn't sure how to answer the question.

"Ino, would it be right if people judged me because of the danger of the Sharingan?" Sasuke said, watching Naruto. She shook her head quickly. "But, if used for evil, then it will be very dangerous too. But you trust me with it – and do you really see Naruto destroying villages?" she shook her head again, sighing in resignation. Kakashi grinned under his mask, putting a hand on her shoulder. He was impressed with Sasuke, though, he expected the prince to put his own interests first and see Naruto as a potential threat. He looked from Sasuke to Naruto thoughtfully.

Why was the boy so special to him?

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End of chapter!

I didn't like this chap ... then again, don't like many things I write heh ;) just wanted to end that little cliffy. Anyway please review!

Note:

1 – Although Kiba and Shino have been trained under such great teachers as Kurenai … Ino and Sasuke have had elite training at the castle, so they're more … elite. Hence why they don't want to face Naruto and co head on :) heh

2 – Yeah I had to put Sharingan in heh … I decided Kakashi would not have Sharingan though, it's just a royal bloodline thing, so just assuming he lost his left eye in battle, and keep it covers cause of scar etc.

I don't know when I'll be able to update again, college starting again soon, so I may not have as much time to write (or maybe I'll have more, who knows ;P ) so might take a while.


	7. Chapter 7

Naruto woke up to find his head and chest hurt, the movement of simply shifting on the bed making him flinch in pain. As he looked down to where his chest was bandaged, he put a hand to his head, trying to put thoughts together. Then it came back to him – falling out of a tree, being wounded, Kiba doing the wounding, Sasuke acting weird … what a confusing day, he thought, rubbing his forehead softly.

Then it struck him. He was in a bed?

At another glance he realised that it was indeed a bed, although somewhat crude, being made out of uneven wood – certainly not the work of a skilled carpenter. He took in his surroundings through half-lidded eyes. He appeared to be in a small room, two lamps glowing softly. One lamp stood on a bedside table, the other near a chest of drawers. Both of which were fashioned in a similar manner to the bed. He couldn't help but smile – it made the room seem more homely.

He stretched his arms out, yawning, but that soon turned into a hacking cough as his chest remembered the strain it had been under. This apparently alerted someone outside the door, because it opened immediately and an old man hopped in. Naruto blinked in surprise as he took in the unusual appearance.

The man had long – very long – white, spiky hair, and his face was painted with weird lines. He would have focused more on the unruly clothes, but there was a more pressing question right now.

"Who the hell are you?" The old man's face broke into a grin.

"My name is Jiraiya! You've probably heard of me, I'm very famous you know." Naruto stared a moment, then snorted.

"Nope, doesn't ring any bells." He replied with a shrug. The man's face fell slightly.

"… very famous ..." he repeated, mumbling to himself.

"Whatever, old man, where am I?" He quickly regained his composure.

"How dare you be so disrespectful to a legendary person such as myself, you little brat!" Naruto looked increasingly unimpressed, and Jiraiya sighed and cleared his throat. "Well, you are in -my- home, not far from the border to the Fire country."

Naruto took in the answer and scratched his head thoughtfully. By the border? He could vaguely recall that Sasuke may have said something about that, but he couldn't be sure … his head snapped up.

"Where's Sasuke?"

"I'm here, idiot." Sasuke was leaning against the door, his usual apathetic expression in place. Naruto frowned at the insult, but didn't say anything. He was more surprised how the other boy had managed to get in and close the door without a sound.

"Sakura?"

"She's in the kitchen, making that ramen stuff." Naruto's face instantly brightened, and Sasuke shook his head, lowering his face so that his hair covered a smile. Naruto sat up straight, causing more coughing. Jiraiya frowned, patting a hand on the blond's shoulder.

"You should take it easy, boy." He said quietly. Naruto scowled at the statement, as it made him feel like a child.

"Who are you again?" he growled, causing the old man to hit him around the head. "You can't do that! I'm injured!" he hollered. Jiraiya crossed his arms, frowning at him.

The atmosphere was broken by Sakura bouncing in, having heard Naruto shouting. She immediately rushed over to Naruto, feeling his forehead and asking if he was feeling okay. He nodded vaguely, sending a scowl towards Jiraiya again.

"Of course he's okay." The old man said, yawning widely. "The demon healed him fine, he just needs a bit of rest." Sakura nodded thoughtfully, and Naruto blinked at the statement. The demon healed him? Well, apparently it had other uses than repelling people. He sighed and rubbed his chest.

Then he froze in realisation – the old man knew of the demon, and Sakura had agreed while Sasuke was in the room. Did that mean Sasuke knew about the demon?

"But … h-he … and S-Sasuke …" Sakura looked at him confusedly, before she recognised what he was stuttering about. Of course he didn't know that Sasuke knew now.

"Yeah uh Sasuke knows, and so does the old pervert." Jiraiya gasped in annoyance at the reference to himself, and Sasuke just nodded, looking towards the window nonchalantly. Naruto just stared at him, speechless for once. He was acting as if he didn't care at all.

Iruka and Sakura had always understood in a way, although they were cautious and uncertain about the demon topic, Sakura having not talked to him to him for a week when she found out, needing time to think. No one had ever shown such a reaction as this though. Naruto clenched his fist. The bastard was just pretending, as though it didn't matter, and it didn't mean anything to him. Sakura caught the expression, and she patted his arm reassuringly.

"Don't be angry, he understands. He almost killed Kiba because of what he did to you." Sasuke growled at this. Why did she have to say it like that? He was just angry at being betrayed, was all. Naruto frowned, bewildered at this.

"Why would Sasuke … ?" Sakura shrugged at the question, and looked towards the prince in question.

"Well, you obviously needed saving." Sasuke said, maintaining an indifferent tone, despite the mocking implications of the statement.

"I didn't need saving, you bastard!" Naruto said heatedly, grasping the side of the bed tightly. "I was just fine, with or without you!" Sasuke was now annoyed. This was the gratitude he got? Kiba could have killed him, and would have.

"You idiot, you were unconscious! You obviously can't protect yourself." Naruto looked on the verge of strangling him, a look that Sasuke returned. "Anything could have happened if I didn't help you!"

"What do you care anyway?" He retorted angrily.

"I don't care!" Sasuke shouted back, furious at him. He didn't register the strange expression that crossed the blond's face at the words. Naruto looked towards the ground, avoiding his eyes.

"Then why?" he asked quietly, though his voice hinted at anger.

"Because I was worried-" he cut himself off. What was he saying? Naruto had that strange expression again, and was looking up curiously. He didn't want to finish the sentence – he wouldn't tell Naruto he was worried about him, it was pathetic. So, he looked around quickly for a solution – or a scapegoat.

"I was worried – about Sakura." He let out a breath of relief, as the excuse was plausible. However, now a dark glare was being shot his way, whilst a pink-haired girl stared up at him teary-eyed. He wished he had had more time to think that part through.

"She was really upset and … I didn't like that," he choked out, still wanting to maintain the masquerade. Naruto just stared in disbelief, and Ino, who had came in to stand at the door, set a glare of loathing at Sakura. Said girl jumped forward to wrap her arms around Sasuke, burying her face in his shoulder.

This was definitely not one of his brightest moments, and he cursed himself whilst patting the crying girl on him awkwardly. What was she crying about anyway? Naruto was fine. Naruto ought to have been the one crying … and buried in his chest.

Naruto watched in anger at the affection between Sasuke and Sakura. What the hell was she thinking? There was no way he meant what he said, he'd never even been nice to her. Still, he felt a streak of jealousy at the sight.

He could draw comfort from the fact that they would probably part ways at the capital, and he would have Sakura to himself. However, this thought brought a new wave of sadness. What the hell was wrong with him? He hadn't had to deal with such a myriad of emotions before – and just recently, so much had been thrown at him. Some sadistic god somewhere was probably enjoying this spectacle immensely.

Somehow he had just survived a near death experience, being stabbed by Kiba. The events of the past – week was it? – should have been weighing on him heavily, but taking them separately made it possible, and less harsh. He was good at thought procrastination, after all.

The last thing he wanted to do was to let these emotions show, and quickly brought a smile to his face, shrugging to himself.

Sasuke, who had been trying to work out what Naruto was thinking, blinked in surprise at the unconcerned smile that had formed. Why was he smiling? He felt almost angry – after almost being killed, Naruto was shrugging it off as if nothing had happened. He had no right to smile, not when he was obviously hurting. It had to be a front that Naruto put on naturally – he would know, being well practiced in hiding his own emotions behind a mask.

"Sakura, weren't you in the middle of cooking?" A new person had appeared in the doorway, and Naruto suddenly felt that the room was far too small for all these people. If possible, the newcomer looked even more strange than Jiraiya – his hair was silver, and spiked upwards, and a mask covered the lower half of his face, a headband his eye. Someone would have to explain what the hell was going on, and soon.

Sakura gasped as she was reminded that she had a previous engagement in cooking, and reluctantly pulled herself away from Sasuke to rush out.

For a few minutes, a silence filled the room. A very tense and uncomfortable silence. Naruto shifted uneasily in his bed, looking to each person in the room expectantly. At length, he let out an exaggerated sigh, causing all heads to turn towards him.

"Is someone going to tell me what is going on, or are we going to stay here all day?" The silver-haired man grinned from under the mask, making his way over to the bed.

"My name is Kakashi, you've probably heard of me?" Naruto stared, shaking his head slightly. The man frowned slightly, and Jiraiya snorted slightly at the familiar response. Ino came up beside him, sighing.

"We told you about Sasuke's other bodyguard, remember?" Naruto's eyes widened in realisation, and he nodded quickly.

"Oh yes! The famous Kakashi Hatake – Sasuke and Ino talk about you a lot!" Jiraiya let out a disbelieving grunt, crossing his arms indignantly. Everyone ignored him. Kakashi scratched his head as if embarrassed, and then nodded.

"As you are aware by now, Kiba was in fact an assassin sent to kill you." Naruto nodded, looking slightly sad. "Well, he was ordered to do that because Akatsuki could use the demon inside of you as a dangerous weapon." Naruto kept his eyes fixed on the pattern of his bed cover. "But as you can see, that was unsuccessful. In his haste, he missed your vital organs, and the demon was able to heal you.

"Kiba was wounded, so his companion, Shino, took him into the border village for treatment. Obviously, it would be too dangerous for you and Sasuke to go to such a public place." Naruto nodded absently, but looked confused.

"I don't understand." The rest looked at him, wondering what had been said that could be misunderstood. "About Kiba and Shino." He clarified.

"Oh." Kakashi nodded, running a hand through his hair. "Instead of fighting, we decided to work together against Akatsuki."

"After those people tried to kill me?" Naruto asked amazedly. Kakashi shrugged, indicating agreement. Naruto put his head in his hands, deciding he didn't like this man's attitude. "So … where is this?" he indicated the room.

"I told you, this is my house!" Jiraiya answered, frustrated.

"Jiraiya here is an old hermit, he lives not far from the border village." Ino supplied. "He goes there often though to spy on women in the hot springs." Naruto frowned at the old hermit, who waved his hand in front of his face in dismissal.

"Now Ino, you make me sound like some old pervert." He laughed, but Naruto just raised his eyebrows. "Ahem … being the famous writer I am, I go into the village for my research." Naruto raised his eyebrows further.

"Well, that one's original, I'll give you that." Jiraiya grunted resentfully, and Naruto rested his head down on the pillow, as he digested the information. He needed to speak with Sakura about what was happening.

He was feeling increasingly helpless, and more than slightly depressed. Having no control over his own life was not new to him, but as his life spiralled from any sort of normality, it engulfed him, and was not at all pleasant. He closed his eyes, and heard the rest in the room leaving one by one. Oh well – maybe ramen would make it all better.

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Sasuke closed the door behind him, and rested his head back on it. That Naruto was impossible to deal with! He would definitely have to crush Sakura's hopes as soon as possible as well; it was all he could do to stop himself from throwing her across the room. Not that she wasn't a nice person – it was just that he didn't want her attached to his arm and squealing his name. Did women think that made them more appealing or something?

From what he could tell, Naruto didn't seem to be demon-like at all. He felt rather stupid looking for unusual behaviour from him, but after all, he hadn't encountered many demons before. What was he supposed to think? He felt sorry for the blond more than anything, though at the same time cautious. According to Kakashi, the demon would surface at times of high emotional distress of its host. Did that mean that if he got angry, Sasuke could be killed in a few seconds? He banged his head back against the door at the thought. He would not be scared of Naruto of all people.

His thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of his bodyguard, who was watching him carefully.

"Naruto?" Ino said knowingly, seeing his frustrated look. He didn't answer. "I'm impressed that you could keep it up that long, though."

"What?"

"Pretending that it doesn't bother you that Naruto is a _demon_." She said, flicking her hair in a bored fashion. He glared at her.

"I'm not pretending about anything, Ino." She smirked, raising her eyebrows. "The demon thing doesn't bother me." Her smirk faltered slighty, replaced by a frown.

"No, of course it wouldn't bother _you_." She said sarcastically, but he ignored her. She sighed. "Anyway, even if he is your … friend, you know he's too dangerous." When she got no response, she leaned against the wall opposite him.

"Anyway, to make good time, I think we should leave tomorrow morning." She said, "Though I haven't spoken to Kakashi." Sasuke looked up at her frowningly.

"That's rather soon," he replied, narrowing his eyes, "Naruto might need more time to recover." Ino's eyes widened, and she jumped forward to confront him angrily.

"WHA-" she stopped herself, realising how close they were to Naruto's room. "That's not funny!" she hissed at him, and he met her glare evenly.

"I don't know what you mean." He replied coolly. She waved her hands at him in a frustrated manner.

"He can't come with us! I won't allow it!"

"It's not your decision to make." He said darkly.

"Sasuke – I don't care if you like him, or whatever, he's a demon! Out of all the people to be friends with, you choose him! Find someone else, because nothing can justify taking him." He glared at her, stepping forward menacingly. She stood her ground, although she swallowed nervously.

"Friendship aside," he growled, "he can be very useful for us." At her confused look, he sighed, as if not wanting to reveal what he was going to say next. "We aren't going to defeat Itachi with a three man army. Now imagine if we had a Jinchuuriki backing our cause. It would be very good – for our integrity." She gasped as she realised what he was getting at.

"You want to use him." Sasuke nodded, watching her reaction closely. He wasn't being entirely untruthful. Naruto would be a valuable asset for them. She looked towards the bedroom door. "I see." She turned back, and opened her mouth, then closed it, deciding whether or not to argue.

With a heavy sigh, she stepped away from him.

"I hope you know what you're doing." With that, she stalked off in the direction of the kitchen. Sasuke watched her go, and then leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms.

"Did you want something, Kakashi?" The silver-haired man, having watched the exchange from the other end of the corridor in the shadows, now approached him, face buried in his book.

"Yo, Sasuke." He said without looking up. After a moment of silence, he spoke up again. "Did you mean what you said?" Sasuke nodded at him.

"Of course."

"Ah." After another moment, Kakashi looked up from his book. "I know you see Naruto as more than a tool. He's an important person to you." Sasuke shrugged.

"You probably also know, that no matter what he means to me, I only really care about my objective." Kakashi continued to watch him. "If he stands in the way of me killing Itachi, I will remove him without hesitation." Kakashi ran a hand through his hair thoughtfully.

"Sasuke, have you ever thought that maybe, there is more for you in life than to kill your brother?" Sasuke pushed himself away from the wall, and made in the direction of the dining room. He stopped for a second, and sneered back at the guard.

"I think you know me better than that."

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Naruto forced his eyes half-open groggily, struggling against sleep, until the smell of fresh ramen reached his nose. Suddenly, he was wide awake, and staring with joy at the large bowl in Sakura's hands.

"Thanks, Sakura!" he said jovially, licking his lips. She smiled.

"No problem … but don't think this is going to happen again." She put her hands on her hips, and they laughed. For a moment, he felt as if nothing had changed, and they were back in the village, safe from the outside world. This was broken by an enraged shout from Ino, at the other side of the house.

"NO! I will not put that on you PERVERT!" Sakura giggled, realising Ino had fallen victim to the perverted hermit. Naruto began slurping his ramen at an incredible speed, as if he had not eaten in days. As he tipped the bowl to drink the last of the soup, Sakura sat down beside him on the bed, back against the headrest. He placed the bowl on the bedside table, and sat beside her.

"So," he began, "what are we going to do now?" Sakura sighed, knowing the question was coming. However, she had no idea herself.

"I'm not sure, to be honest." She replied slowly. "We're almost at the Fire country, and there's been no sign of Akatsuki chasing us." It was becoming increasingly obvious to her that stuff that was learnt at school had absolutely no practical application. Then again, how often did people have to run away with demons?

"What about Sasuke? Won't we continue with him?" Sakura blinked in surprise. Of course she had considered that possibility, but …

"They know you're a demon now. Do you really think we'll be able to travel with them? Besides, now that Kakashi is back, they have no reason to keep us around other than companionship, and I'm sure Sasuke has bigger priorities than that." Naruto lowered his head with a sigh.

"I think it's the best option for us, whatever his priorities." She looked at him curiously, and he lowered his voice. "We certainly have a better chance of survival if with elite guards, and …" he hesitated, "and few have better resources than royalty, for finding people." She stared in shock.

"You mean you would use them to get Iruka back and put them at risk trying to keep safe?" Naruto shook his head.

"I see it as a favour. Don't you think, they're our friends now? And after all Sasuke was … he … cares about you, you know?" She nodded, and smiled as she recalled the earlier event. She didn't notice that her friend didn't look so pleased.

He wasn't stupid, and he knew that Sasuke had an ulterior motive to 'caring' about a random girl he met on a riverbank. That or princes' lives were incredibly dull, which he somewhat doubted.

"Well, if you want to do that," she replied, putting her hand on his arm, "I'll always be there for you. We have to stick together." She returned his smile, and stretched her legs out.

Sakura herself was quite impressed with Naruto's analysis and solution, though of course being in bed; he had a lot of time to think these things through. This reminded her of how incredibly tired she was – she hadn't slept in two days, with Naruto's situation on her mind, and she closed her eyes, sleep slowly engulfing her.

"Sakura?" Naruto said, his voice soft.

"Yeah?" she murmured sleepily.

"… Thank you."

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The next morning Kakashi knocking loudly on the door woke them. He entered, and when he saw them side-by-side on the bed gave a knowing wink. Sakura narrowed her eyes.

"What do you want?" she growled. He smiled and looked to Naruto, who looked like he was struggling immensely to stay awake.

"We're leaving soon. For all of our safety, it's better that we keep moving. So you should get your stuff together." He left quickly, closing the door behind him, not leaving them time to respond.

"Weird." She murmured.

"What?" Naruto asked tiredly.

"He said that we're all going together!" Naruto sat up slowly, as the words sunk in.

"Wow … I guess so." They sat in silence for a minute, in their own thoughts about the situation.

"Hurry up, or you'll miss breakfast!" came Kakashi's voice from behind the door. At the mention of the meal, Naruto shot out of bed towards the door, travelling dilemma forgotten. He was halted by a meaningful cough from Sakura, he turned back confusedly, and found she was looking away from him pointedly, her cheeks a light pink.

"You should uh …" He looked down and realised he was dressed only in his bright orange underwear.

"Oh … yeah. " he said, red tinting his own cheeks. He hurriedly pulled his nearby clothes on, and ran out of the door.

Breakfast was on the whole uneventful. Apparently living on his own had done wonders for Jiraiya's cooking skills, and Naruto quickly cleared his plate, earning a slap around the head from Sakura as he tried to lick it clean. Few words were exchanged, however, Kakashi seemingly the only one willing to speak to everyone.

As he lazily discussed the weather after everyone had finished, a large orange frog hopped casually onto the table in front of Sakura. She pushed away from the table, shrieking.

"It's a giant frog!" she exclaimed, and everyone looked at the frog in question, who glanced around innocently. Jiraiya laughed as the frog sat in front of Naruto, who picked it up cautiously. It wasn't too heavy for its size, and he playfully waved it around in front of him, while it appeared to grin at him.

"Ah yes, don't mind him! His name's Gamakichi." Sakura, getting over her surprise, now leaned forward curiously.

"Nice to meet you." The frog said cheerfully. Naruto's eyes widened, and he dropped the frog with a little squeal in his shock, whilst Sakura promptly fainted.

"It … it talked," Ino gasped, leaning away from it. The frog turned to her.

"Of course I talk! Just because I'm of a younger generation does not mean I am not as articulate as others." The frog said, his tone indignant. Jiraiya chuckled heartily at the reactions, though Kakashi and Sasuke still looked indifferent.

"It uses big words too." Naruto breathed. Sakura, having recovered, dragged herself up to look at the frog, face pale. Jiraiya patted the frog affectionately.

"He's not actually that big, just a tadpole really. You should see his father." Naruto shivered as his imagination offered an image of a frog twice as tall as a tree. Gamakichi nodded sagely at Jiraiya, while the others continued to stare at him in awe. At length, Kakashi, who had watched apathetically, now shrugged and stood.

"We should be going now, Jiraiya." Sasuke and Ino gasped as Kakashi bowed to the perverted hermit. They had never in their life seen him bow in respect. Ino hastily stood and did the same. They would have to ask about the relationship between Jiraiya and Kakashi at another time.

Kakashi led them out to the front yard, followed by the large orange frog. He led the group to the side, where a large covered cart and horse stood waiting. Kakashi gestured to it cheerfully.

"This will be our transport." Sasuke frowned at him.

"I know this'll be easier than walking but … is that even a proper cart?" Naruto looked it up and down and nodded.

"It's more like a big old box on wheels." He agreed. Kakashi's smile grew.

"Well, I'm glad you two like it – since you'll be the ones using it." They looked at him questioningly. "Since the Imperial Guard and Akatsuki are looking for only you two, and there's a good chance they'll both be in the village, hiding is the best option. The girls can travel up front with me." Naruto glanced through the door in the back of the cart, and scowled. It was going to be a very uncomfortable journey he decided, scanning the uneven wooden ground and lack of anything to sit on, bar a few wooden boxes. Sasuke stood beside him, and looked at it distastefully, obviously thinking the same thing.

"You mean Jiraiya isn't coming?" Sasuke asked, "He is a hermit after all. He could come to the Fire country." Ino and Sakura looked mortified at the suggestion, but Kakashi shook his head, and Jiraiya gave a sheepish chuckle.

"I'm not exactly welcomed there, heh …" he said. "I met the queen, and we don't see eye-to-eye." Naruto was surprised that the hermit had met a queen again, but then he was a friend of a royal guard. He wondered briefly what perverted act he had done to upset her.

"Well, everyone aboard!" Kakashi said, gesturing the girls to the padded seats at the front, and the boys to the compartment at the back. They retrieved their sleeping bags from their packs, but scowled when Ino and Sakura were given thick blankets to wrap up in up front.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Naruto exclaimed, "it's gonna be cold and uncomfortable!" Jiraiya grinned, and threw a very small blanket towards them. They stared at it in disbelief. "That isn't funny!" Naruto shouted. Kakashi ushered them into the back, ignoring their protests.

"I'm going to get you for this Kakashi." Sasuke said threateningly. The silver-haired man just shrugged, sending them a smug smile before closing the door.

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End of chapter

Well that was rather long, and not exactly eventful heh, but needed to put this sort of stuff in so that the story flows a bit better…

Thanks for the nice reviews :D I love 'em heheh


	8. Chapter 8

"Get your elbow out of my face, idiot." Sasuke easily dodged the fist flying towards him, leaning back and kicking Naruto into a nearby box.

"You bastard!" Naruto yelled, preparing to charge at him.

"Stop fighting," a lazy voice came from the front of the cart. Naruto grudgingly slumped down, mumbling something about stupid old men.

They had discovered, through what had been a very long day that the 'cart' that they were travelling in was designed solely for the purpose of torturing the occupants. Not only was it rickety and weak, it was also shaky enough to throw the unfortunate people inside into boxes and the side. The worst thing, however, was how it was built. Across the floor and sides, bits of wood and nails stuck out unevenly, at bad angles.

Needless to say, Sasuke and Naruto were bruised, scratched, and not in a good mood. They had positioned Jiraiya's less than generous blanket across a small part that was relatively safe, leaving them sat close together, wrapped in their own sleeping bags.

Because the border was defined by the mountain range, the border village was built between the mountains, meaning the only practical way through for hundreds of miles was to go directly through. From what they had heard, it was well guarded and fortified, having been important when there was conflict between the Lands of Fire and Thunder. Hence why they were to hide in the back of a cart, and were freezing.

The night slowly descended on them, indicated to the two by the loss of light from the cracks in the carts. As the sun disappeared, the light was replaced by an eerie blue glow, and the air got even colder. Without a word, they pushed closer together for warmth, backs against a box. For a while, they said nothing, but Naruto stole glances at Sasuke regularly, until he got impatient.

"What is it?" He asked Naruto irritably. Naruto lowered his head, avoiding his eyes.

"Why don't you care that I'm a demon?" Sasuke blinked in surprise, frowning at him.

"You're not a demon, Naruto." He said, hoping he sounded reassuring. "It's not your fault that that _thing_ is inside of you." Naruto shook his head, and looked up.

"I don't know how it got there." He whispered, and then rested his head back. "I don't … how could you understand this?" he turned away, eyes stinging. Sasuke looked at the back of his head thoughtfully.

"No, I couldn't understand it," he said softly, "but I do know what it's like to have something beyond my control affecting my life, something that's not my fault. Yet people look at me, and treat me differently, as though I'm not a normal person like them." Naruto turned back to him confusedly.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke smiled sadly.

"My heritage, and the crime put onto me … being Itachi's brother. I can't ever be normal, Naruto – neither of us can. All we can do is try to fight that destiny, and not let it control us." Naruto nodded in understanding, and then gave Sasuke a half-grin.

"You sound like an old man when you say that sort of thing!" Sasuke stared at him for a second, before chuckling himself. No matter how annoying Naruto was, he always found a way to make him smile.

Silence fell in the cart again, the jolting of the cart now seeming more of a rocking motion. Sasuke yawned, looking sideways to see if Naruto was asleep. He was surprised to see that he wasn't, instead looking very intently in front of him. The prince frowned as Naruto's head drooped slightly in weariness, and then he pinched himself, to try to stay awake.

"You can go to sleep, if you want to." Sasuke suggested. Naruto shook his head sleepily.

"No, I'm ok-" his sentence ended in a yawn, and he shook his head briskly as if to push his tiredness away.

"You're tired … why not?" Naruto looked away, examining the box beside him.

"No reason." Sasuke watched him curiously, and he remembered the night in the cave.

"Is it because of the nightmares?" Naruto flinched visibly, still not looking at him. "It is, isn't it?"

"I … can't stop them, they-" he shook his head, not wanting to recall them. Sasuke leaned forward, forcing Naruto to look at him. "You don't know what it's like. You don't know what I … see … the demon …" he closed his eyes, his words failing for the second time that night. Sasuke rested his head back, looking towards the ground.

"I have nightmares too, you know." He tried to ignore Naruto's eyes on him, piercing bright blue orbs. He shifted uneasily, clearly unused to being at all open. "I mean, after … I saw Itachi kill …" He looked up at Naruto, who was looking at him with a sombre expression, and he knew he didn't need to go any further into that subject. They both remained silent, in their own thoughts.

Naruto hadn't expected the reserved prince to offer up such personal information about himself; but then again, he hadn't expected him to catch onto the fact he was trying to avoid the nightmares. Somehow, the other seemed to be able to know what he was thinking, and understand him well. Something that no one had ever been able to do – he had always been the outcast of society, shunned and misunderstood. Yet here was this prince, slightly older than him, who could somehow empathise with him completely.

He found himself watching Sasuke's unreadable face as he slowly fell into the darkness of sleep, his mind on these new developments.

Sasuke himself was in a state of confusion. Why did he tell Naruto about that? He wouldn't dare tell Ino or Kakashi that he still had nightmares, where he could see his brother killing his parents, but he had just told this random boy who had crossed his path by chance.

For some reason, he felt the need to comfort him, protect him from the things that made him hurt. It was ridiculous of course – in truth, he barely even knew Naruto, never mind care about him so much. Things were a lot simpler when all he had to focus on was revenge on his brother. Maybe he should go back to that, he thought sarcastically, something that he understood.

He sighed wistfully at this. Was his life really that pathetic? Then again, the death of his brother was of higher importance than most things, whichever way he looked at it.

He blinked in surprise as Naruto's head fell slowly, coming to rest on his shoulder. Although that type of contact would normally irritate him, he found it strangely comforting. Besides, the sleep looked peaceful, and he wouldn't want to wake him up unnecessarily. If it looked like he was having a nightmare, he could always wake him up.

Yes, he decided, he'd have to try to renew the hate for his brother. This was all way too confusing.

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As they continued, small fires could be seen of the horizon, and Ino frowned as Kakashi turned towards them.

"Where are we going?" she asked him.

"To meet some friends," he replied mysteriously. Ino punched his arm, and he sighed. "You didn't think the plan was to go in alone with one suspicious cart?" She narrowed her eyes.

"So what's is your great plan?" she said sarcastically.

"This is a band of travelling entertainers. If we join them, it will be easier for us to sneak past the gate guards, masquerading as entertainers also. Jiraiya has talked to them, and its fine." She nodded in understanding, but still looked at him oddly. His secrecy was what was suspicious. She had a feeling that these were not normal entertainers.

Sakura snored quietly on the seat next to her, and she prodded the pink-haired girl awake as they drew close to explain. She nodded sleepily, before dozing off again. Ino shook her head exasperatedly. Civilians.

They slowly drew to a stop not far from the site, and Kakashi turned to her, smiling through the dark.

"You should go wake up the two in the back." She complied, jumping down and circling around to the back of the cart. Kakashi was acting strange – and that wasn't a good sign. She recalled the last time that had happened, and shuddered, hoping that it was just her exhaustion setting in.

She opened the door, and headed to the boy's corner, opening her mouth to yell at them to wake up, but then froze. Naruto was resting against Sasuke's shoulder – and the latter had his arm casually around the blond. They looked like … a couple. At this thought, she choked on air, not sure what to think. Never had she seen Sasuke show any form of intimacy, not even a light hug. Yet now he was almost _cuddling _a boy in the back of an old cart. She forced her breaths to slow down. Maybe it was an accident while they were sleeping …

"Wake up!" she shouted, causing them both to jump, looking at her bewilderedly. Then they realised the awkward position they were in. Naruto, blushing, jumped up away from the prince spluttering, a light blush on his cheeks. Ino noted their almost guilty looks. They would make a cute couple, she thought to herself, trying not to smile.

"We're taking a break here, there's … a new plan."

--------

Before them was a group of colourfully decorated carts and wagons, surrounded by small campfires. Despite the late hour, people moved about, busying themselves with their duties. There were 2 armed people that could be seen walking about, assumedly guards to protect the travellers from bandits and highwaymen.

As they approached, one of the guards stepped forward to greet them. He bowed to Kakashi, and nodded at the rest. Sasuke hid his annoyance at his bodyguard being received with more respect than himself.

"Welcome, sir," the guard said, eyes flicking over the odd newcomers. "It is an honour to have one of your position to help guard our humble group." Kakashi inclined his own head.

"Thank you," he replied cordially, "I take it Jiraiya has informed you of our situation?" The guard nodded, and looked around cautiously.

"I will take you to the group leader. Your subordinates may rest by the fires, and help themselves to the food." Naruto, having been lost in the formalities, now brightened at the mention of food, rubbing his stomach happily.

Sasuke, however, did not look so happy. Not only had Kakashi shown respect and seriousness towards a stranger – neither of which he'd shown towards the prince – he had been referred to as his subordinate! He glared at Kakashi's back as the guard led him away.

He also realised that if Jiraiya had already sent a message, this was already planned out, and he was apparently oblivious to what Kakashi did. Sakura turned to him, smiling widely.

"Shall we go get some food, Sasuke?"

"No." he deadpanned. Her face fell in disappointment, and Naruto frowned, moving forward to take her hand.

"I'll go with you Sakura!" she drew her hand away, not taking her eyes off Sasuke.

"No thanks, we're not hungry at the moment." Naruto blinked in confusion, and then scowled as he realised what was happening. He folded his arms, looking remarkably like a sulking child.

Minutes passed as no one said a word. They avoided each other's eyes and stood in a tense silence. Ino watched the three with raised eyebrows, unsure of what to do. But rather than drag it out further, she eventually decided to resolve it.

"Let's go get some food, Naruto! I'm starving." She chirped. They looked at her as if she'd grown an extra head. It wasn't exactly a secret that she didn't like the blond.

"Uh … ok?" Smiling widely, she grabbed him by the arm, and led him away from the glaring prince and bewildered girl.

"Wait – the food is back …" she dragged him behind one of the wagons, and then turned to confront him. The light from the fires flickered and cast shadows across her face, creating a rather scary visage. He suddenly looked quite terrified.

"Naruto. What is your relationship with Sasuke?" He stared at her in confusion. His face became thoughtful, and he scratched his chin. It took a while before he came up with a reply.

"Umm … what?" Ino narrowed her eyes. The boy was a complete idiot. Sighing deeply, she shook her head.

"Never mind … look, Sasuke has never had a close friend before. He has trust issues and – well, quite a few other social issues. You should know, if you do anything to hurt him – then you're in for a lifetime of pain." The threat was not lost on Naruto, and he gulped, looking very pale.

"Y-yes ma'am …" Her face immediately brightened at the acknowledgement.

"Well, now that we have that little problem out of the way, let's go eat!" He let himself be dragged along, suddenly not so hungry.

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When Ino had gone to get some 'beauty sleep', Sasuke joined Naruto at one of the campfires, where he was sitting in a contemplative silence. Such a thing from Naruto was surely not a good sign.

"Hey, Sasuke." Naruto said simply. Sasuke sat down next to him wonderingly.

"Having fun?" he said sarcastically. Naruto turned away from fire, snapped out of his thoughts.

"Whatever. Where did Sakura go?" Sasuke shrugged, nodding his head towards one of the carts.

"She was saying something about her hair – I wasn't really listening." Naruto opened his mouth as if to reprimand him, but decided it against it, instead just sighing. "You should get some sleep, it'll be light soon." Naruto shook his head.

"How about you? Or do Uchihas not need sleep?" Sasuke gave him a half-hearted glare, but shook his head also.

"I'm not tired, besides, I'd rather stay here with you." He clasped his hand over his mouth, realising that what he just said didn't sound as casual as he intended it to. Naruto froze beside him, shocked by the statement, but then his face formed a wide grin.

"I knew it! We're friends now Sasuke!" he stared at the blond blankly. "Well, you would want to spend time with me if you didn't like me." Sasuke was glad for the darkness that hid the blush forming on his face.

"Well … don't you have lots of friends?" The grin on the other's face faltered slightly, but was back before Sasuke could blink.

"Yeah, sure." Naruto replied, turning back to the fire. Before Sasuke could comment on it though, Naruto's head snapped up to watch someone making their way through the camp. He turned to Sasuke with the stupid grin in place. "She's really pretty, don't you think?" Sasuke looked at the figure confusedly.

"Naruto that's a boy." Naruto leaned forward, squinting.

"… Oh." Sasuke snorted, but the blond continued to stare with great curiosity. "Wow – he's prettier than Sakura!" Sasuke blinked at him, wondering if he had heard right. Did Naruto not care about that at all? And what was with eyeing up some random guy in the camp?

"Um, you think males can be pretty like that?" Naruto nodded.

"Yeah – there are just not many pretty guys about. I mean he's the only one I've really seen, apart from you." Sasuke frowned, before he realised the implication. Naruto thought he was pretty? He cursed as he found himself blushing again. He should be insulted by a comment like that, not blushing like one of the prince's ignorant suitors!

"I'm going to go talk to him. Later, Sasuke!" With that, Naruto jumped up and set off in the direction of the boy. Sasuke watched him leave incredulously. He certainly didn't waste any time. He rubbed his temples wearily. That idiot was so annoying.

What if the pretty boy was interested in Naruto? He made a face at the thought of Naruto on a date with him. He decided that would _not_ happen, for Naruto's sake. Not that he was overly worried about him, he reminded himself. He let out a growl of annoyance.

A hand on his shoulder sent him flying out of his seat and almost into the fire, his heart beating wildly. Behind where he was previously sat stood Kakashi, looking genuinely surprised. Sasuke struggled to control his rapid breathing, glaring at the silver-haired man.

"Sasuke, you're unusually … jumpy." When he got no reply, he continued, "in fact, you're never jumpy." Sasuke continued to glare as his heart rate slowed down. Not only had the man tried to just kill him, he was now giving him a very knowing look that said I-know-more-than-I'm-letting-on. Besides, how had he not noticed someone coming up behind him?

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" Kakashi gave him an even look.

"I wasn't sneaking. You were miles away." He grinned slightly from under his mask. "Something on your mind?" Sasuke hardened his death-glare.

"No. Go away." He realised that the man was right though – the sky was already brightening as the sun rose; he had apparently been sitting in thought for longer than he had realised.

"Now don't be like that. You can tell me." He focused his self-control to resist strangling him. Kakashi looked on with an amused expression. Sasuke closed his eyes for a second, taking calming breaths, as taught by one of his castle teachers, for stress relief.

A loud scream approaching jolted him out of this state, causing him to jump back and trip over a log, heart rate back up instantly. Getting up quickly, and hoping no one but Kakashi saw his lapse in dignity, he looked over to the source of the scream.

Naruto was back from his little venture, and running towards him at an alarming speed. He had managed to wake probably every person in the camp, but he didn't look too concerned about that. In fact, he looked scared.

When he arrived, he attempted to stop next to Sasuke, resulting in him sliding forward several meters and tripping, falling face first into the ground. Sasuke shook his head at the blond condescendingly.

"You idiot." Kakashi raised his eyebrows at the prince, who ignored him and brushed the last of the dirt off his own clothes. "What is it?" Naruto stood up and leaned forward to catch his breath. When he could speak, he gestured wildly towards the direction he had come from.

"There was … demon … big sword … scary." Sasuke stared at him perplexedly. "He was big and scary … like a demon …"

"You're scared of some demon person? Aren't you a demon yourself – the most powerful?" Naruto now looked up with intense curiosity, apparently forgetting his encounter.

"What do you mean 'most powerful'?" Sasuke stared in surprise. He hadn't expected Naruto to be oblivious to the type of demon inside of him, but then again it would make sense.

"You're the vessel of the Kyuubi, right?" Naruto looked at him blankly. Sasuke sighed, gesturing him to sit down. "Well, I'm not too good on demonology … but the Nine Tailed Fox is the most powerful of the tailed demons. The greater the number of tails, the greater the power; I think that they grow more tails as they age." Naruto nodded, taking the information in eagerly. "I don't know much more than that, though. The binding of the demon to the body takes place at birth, and can only be done by a demonologist. To bind the great Kyuubi … the one who did it must have been very powerful – as far as I know, it has only been done twice in history, and there have been countless failures."

"So I wasn't born with it?" If anything, Naruto was more confused now. The demon had been bound to him when he was baby? Who would do that, and for what reason? His parents had always avoided the topic, after all. They must have known about it.

"No, it is done through some sort of ritual technique." He looked to Kakashi for confirmation, but the silver-haired man had disappeared some time in the conversation. "Kakashi might know more though." Naruto immediately scanned the area keenly, and Sasuke watched with interest.

Naruto had no idea about his early past, or about the demon, and the more he learnt, the more puzzling it got. Although he looked cheerful enough, Sasuke could tell how desperate he was from his eyes. No matter how much he hid his emotions, his eyes could express loneliness, anger, and joy – almost anything, all whilst his smile was in place. Sasuke was slowly learning how to read this mysterious boy, from just his eyes.

When he was genuinely happy, they would sparkle.

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Ino stretched, sleepily exiting the wagon she had been in, and walked inelegantly into someone outside. She fell back and immediately began apologising, until she saw it was none other than her fellow bodyguard.

"Kakashi! What are you –" her words were cut off as he put a finger to her lips, glancing backwards, and then walked away. It took her a moment to react to the strange behaviour, and when she turned, he had disappeared. Frowning, she looked towards the direction that he had been glancing in. Her frown deepened as he realised as she realised the reason.

On the seats by one the campfires, the Prince of Thunder and a certain blond Jinchuuriki were sat side-by-side. Her eyes widened as she saw that Sasuke had his arm around the other. Now, a gesture like that from Naruto would mean very little … but from Sasuke it was anything but meaningless. The 'cuddling' while sleeping could have been a mistake, but this was as clear as day. Sasuke didn't do friendly gestures. It looked innocent enough, and Naruto was apparently indifferent to it, but it was a great sign of affection.

Once her shock had worn off, she decided it was rude to watch, and wandered away aimlessly, coming to wagon Sakura was using. She knocked quietly, and stepped in when she heard the other girl's welcome.

The disappointed look on her face was not lost on Ino, but she smiled and greeted her in a friendly manner. Sakura turned back to a small hand held mirror, which she was using to do her hair and make up. Although this was seemingly innocent as well, Ino could tell that the effort put into it was incredible. She must have been doing it for a long time.

"What are you doing?" she said, keeping her voice friendly. She already knew the answer. Sakura turned to her with a sly smile.

"Sasuke is a very shy person. But I know he likes me." Ino closed her eyes, sighing inwardly. "I'm going to make him see that I'm too beautiful to resist. This is … what I need. I will make him mine no matter what." Ino looked at her sadly, hearing the great determination. This was an awkward situation.

"Do you think, maybe you're aiming too high?" Sakura shook her head.

"Anything's possible if you put your mind to it!"

"He could have someone else he likes." She grinned at Ino.

"Don't think you have a better chance than me, Ino." Yep, this was going to be very awkward.

"Sakura, don't try." Sakura looked at her blankly, as if wondering if she heard right. "I'm only thinking of you, I don't want you to get hurt! You don't know Sasuke like I do, and I'm sure that you don't have … a chance …" her voice faltered as she saw the furious look on the other's face.

"How dare you! Telling me you are only thinking of _my_ feelings! You want Sasuke for yourself, you selfish cow! I thought that you of all people wouldn't stoop so low as to come here and say such things." She clenched her fist, and nodded stiffly towards the door. "Get out. Leave me alone."

Ino knew better than to argue. Cursing herself for her lack of tact, she exited the wagon, and the door slammed behind her. Even though Sakura was right about wanting Sasuke, she wasn't right about the rest. They both wanted the prince greatly, but she knew he barely glanced at them. There was only one person the prince had his eye on – and it seemed that this lucky person was completely oblivious, and perhaps not even interested. She laughed to herself, not finding it particularly funny. Oh the irony.

* * *

**End of Chapter**

**  
A/N:**

Lots of Sasuke - Naruto interaction here heh, needed to develop that a little ..

Anyway, thanks for the reviews :D hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoy writing it (and reviews heh)


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: 

Hey ! Wow it's been a while … it seems to be taking longer to update each time :/ but I will definitely continue if possible

Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad people seemed to like the last chapter, I felt I might have rushed it a little (I'm not that great at beta'ing my own work too heh),

and also thanks for c2 add ;)

No negative reviews yet that I can see ... umm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, and criticism is always helpful.

Oh well, I'm going on a bit, so here's the chapter ! (and um I promise to make it longer next time)

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The morning brought a downpour of rain, and they found themselves huddled in the cart, cursing the bad craftsmanship of the builder of the leaky old thing. Kakashi motioned them to one side, looking through the cracks. They looked out and saw that two figures were stood outside, apparently unaffected by the heavy rain. One was a young man, but half the size of the other older man.

"Listen up," he said seriously, nodding towards the figures. "Those two are Zabuza and Haku. They are similar to us, in that they are only travelling with this group, not as a part of it. This is important –" he gave Naruto a meaningful look, as if he expected him not to listen, "don't speak to them, or even go near them."

"But they –" Naruto began, but Kakashi cut him off.

"This is not a discussion, Naruto. From what I know about them, they are very dangerous. That big sword isn't for show." They stared at him, wanting him to explain the two further, but instead he drew out his book, sitting in a dry area. Sasuke looked around sceptically.

"Since there are other carts and wagons now, can we not travel in _this _thing?" Kakashi chuckled, and shook his head.

"The others are occupied, and harder to hide in. Maybe Sakura and Ino can travel on a different one, though." Naruto let out a disbelieving squeak, and quickly cleared his throat, to grunt in disbelief instead. The girls, however, didn't look particularly keen to be separated from Sasuke. All of them gave the silver-haired man an annoyed glare, which he shrugged off, focusing on his book.

They settled down as the rain continued. Sakura had immediately dragged Sasuke to a corner, and snuggled up to him. He tried to push her away, grimacing, but eventually decided that it was too much effort. By chance, he looked up at Naruto.

The blond had a blank look on his face, and was playing with a knife absently. Somehow, it was far too quiet without the bubbly attitude that he had got used to. The silence was uncomfortable – as was the feeling of the annoying girl holding onto him. He shook his head, sighing inwardly. I can't believe I miss loud and cheerful, he thought to himself, still gazing at Naruto.

Although Naruto may have been deep in his own thoughts, Ino watched Sasuke carefully, noting the almost longing gaze he was giving to the other boy.

Now that she was suspicious of the two, everything they did seemed to point to something deeper than friendship. Although she tried to convince herself it was her mind playing tricks on her, it was obvious for her _something_ was going on there. She looked back to Naruto, and grinned slightly. The fact that she wasn't told what was going on was annoying – but then again, she loved a good mystery.

The thing that worried her was not the fact that Sasuke might like Naruto – but rather that he might _not_ like Sakura. If her suspicions were right, he was leading her on, probably for the sake of covering the secret. Sakura may have been convinced, but was he inadvertently setting her up to be hurt? He didn't exactly look happy about being with her.

Her eyes fell on Kakashi, and she was not at all surprised that he was giving Sasuke and Naruto the same appraising look from the safety of his little book. But how long had he known?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a horn. Kakashi immediately stood, and gave a gesture to the rest.

"That's our signal." He said cheerfully.

"Signal for what?" asked Sasuke uncertainly.

"To start preparing for the journey. The next signal will be to start moving."

Naruto immediately jumped from the cart, and ran out of sight, leaving a rather surprised Sasuke, who had been counting on his friend to free him from Sakura. So instead, following Naruto's example, he leaped down and ran in the same direction, hoping that he wouldn't be followed. This hope was dashed as she took off after him without hesitation; calling to him that he'd accidentally left her behind.

However, she was unable to keep up with the able-bodied prince, and eventually halted to catch her breath, feeling rather annoyed. Not only was she alone in the middle of a camp of strange people, but also her hair was ruined because of the rain. What was with him, running off like that?

She rested against one of the carts, slightly sheltered from the rain. She looked back, and decided to head back to the cart, where Ino was helping Kakashi with the cart. But as she began to move, she heard a familiar voice from the other side of the cart she had leaned against. Although she could not hear what was being said, she moved around so that she could see what Naruto was doing on the edge of camp, out of sight.

Whatever she had been expecting, it was not the blond talking to Haku, one of the ones he had been warned to stay away from. Was he really that stupid? They were talking quietly, the voices drowned out by the rain, and she edged forward out of curiosity.

The twig snapping under her foot seemed to resound around her, and probably alerted the whole camp to her bad attempt at sneaking. She smiled sheepishly as they both turned towards her. Haku immediately ran off behind the cart and out of sight, presumably back to his own. Naruto jogged up to her, giving her an odd look.

"What are you doing here? I thought you'd stay with Sasuke." Sakura sighed, and shook her head.

"More importantly, what were you doing, talking to Haku?" Naruto frowned for a moment, as if trying to remember the last few minutes.

"Umm that … oh yeah! I need to speak with Kakashi." She blinked in confusion, but he took her arm, and began to run back towards their own cart. When they arrived back, Sakura was thoroughly soaked, and if she wasn't so curious about what was happening, would have scolded her friend for making her run through the rain like that.

"Kakashi!" Naruto said, between breaths, "I don't think it's a good idea to stay here." The silver-haired man didn't look at him, tending to the horses. "Those two are wanted criminals! They're like, infamous and stuff!" Sakura stared, wondering what he was leading up to.

"What's your point, Naruto?" Kakashi said casually.

"I heard that they want to cause trouble in the village, something to do with really rich guy staying there."  
"That's not our problem."

"But what if they get us into trouble?" Kakashi turned away from the horses to shake his head at Naruto.

"I've been assured by the company leader that they will not cause trouble for us."  
"But how can you-" his question was cut off by a loud horn sounding, and Sasuke trudged towards them casually, returning from wherever he had disappeared to.

"Stop standing out here talking, we have to start moving now." Kakashi nodded, and herded them into the back of the cart. He returned to the front with Ino, and shook his head.

"He's like a child, doing the opposite of what he's told to do." Ino nodded in agreement, but remained silent, in her own thoughts. Sasuke had run off after Naruto, leaving Sakura as if she didn't matter. Was that what a perfect man was like? She had always dreamed of being with Sasuke, but maybe being with a handsome prince wasn't all it was cut out to be. But on the other hand, what would it be like to be the target of his affections? As the cart started moving, she fell back into her daydreams, blocking out thoughts of Sakura – and Naruto.

In the back, Sakura immediately huddled up to Sasuke, seeking warmth. He threw a blanket at her, and rested against the side of the cart wearily, hoping for rest. This was not to be, as Naruto came to sit in front of him, leaning forward curiously. He frowned as Naruto's face came close to his as he talked in a low voice.

"Where did you go earlier?"

"I was just exploring." He replied, and Naruto looked at him expectantly. "You're right about Zabuza and Haku. They're definitely not people you want to cross paths with." Sakura looked up slightly from drying herself. Had Sasuke been lurking around all along?

"Yeah…" replied Naruto thoughtfully, sitting back down. "I've been wondering, what type of entertainers these people are."

"You have a point," Sasuke murmured, having been thinking about himself. "Taking in runaways and criminals, it doesn't seem quite right." Naruto looked up, and shook his head.

"I mean, what type of entertainment do they do? Is it like dancing, acting, magic?" He smiled slightly at the idea. "If it's magic, I'd really like to see it!" Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"You do realise, those are only tricks? We have better things to do than watch cheap acts like that."

"They could do real magic!" Naruto enthused. "I've seen people do it before."

"I don't know what you saw, but entertainers are just that, there for entertainment. It's not real." Naruto sighed at him, as if not expecting him to understand.

"I'm going to learn how to do magic like them, you'll see."

"You still don't get it!" Sasuke shouted at him, causing Sakura and Naruto to jump. The prince glared at the bewildered blond. "The only 'real' magic they do is making your coins disappear! Forget about it, and grow up." With this, he lay down on his blanket, turning away from them. Naruto looked at Sakura, who shrugged back at him. She looked at Sasuke, and decided that disturbing him would be not such a good idea.

"You can huddle up with me, if you're still cold?" Naruto offered shyly. Sakura took another glance at the still form of the prince, before nodding to him. He walked over to put his arm around her, and she rested her head against his shoulder, eyes closed.

Sasuke heard this exchange, and cautiously looked back over his shoulder at them. He wondered what the hell Naruto was thinking, wanting to do magic. Apparently having a sealed demon wasn't exciting enough for him.

As he looked back, he saw Naruto had a content smile on his face as he held Sakura, and the prince frowned. Did Naruto seriously like her? He had seen it as playing around, but it was possible that Naruto really did want to be with her. He let out a low growl of annoyance unconsciously, but caught himself. Why would that bother him? Well, he certainly wasn't going to fight Naruto over Sakura. It would also be an easy way to stop Sakura clinging to him all the time. That was something he wouldn't pass up.

He closed his eyes, the irregular jolting of the cart unnoticed as he went through possibilities in his mind. Maybe Ino could suggest a way to get them together? He pushed away the niggling feeling that he would probably regret it somehow. As soon as they got to the village, he'd have to talk to her about it.

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A loud knocking jolted Sasuke out of his light sleep, and in a second he was on his feet and grabbing for his sword. Kakashi voice drifted through from the front of the cart.

"We're almost at the gates, make sure you're well hidden." Naruto let out a sleepy grunt of acknowledgment, before falling back to sleep. Sakura however, suddenly wide-awake, jumped up, hit Naruto to wake him, and hopped over to Sasuke.

"Let's sit over here, Sasuke!" she said happily, gesturing to one of the corners.

"How about, you sit here, I sit over there?" She gave him a hurt look. "It's easier to not be seen if we spread out." He said wearily.

"Oh, that's a good idea!" she enthused, and obediently sat down. Sasuke looked over to Naruto, who was already fast asleep, and shook his head. The idiot was so predictable.

"Naruto, wake up!" Kakashi shouted from the front, also having predicted this. Naruto opened his eyes, slowly stretching.

"Hurry idiot, we're there now," hissed Sasuke, dragging the protesting blond behind one of the boxes by his collar.

The cart came to a halt, and voices could be heard from the front of the line. The prince held his breath, praying that the carts weren't searched. He was tired of fighting.

Ages seemed to pass as they sat in the cart, exchanging nervous glances as the soldiers' voices came closer. Sasuke saw that Naruto was shaking slightly, and resisted the urge to go over to comfort him. Sakura had her eyes closed, and he guessed she was trying to keep calm, or was praying. Perhaps both. He reminded himself that they were just civilians, and the feeling of imminent danger weighed on them a lot more heavily.

They drew in a sharp breath as the cart jolted slightly to started moving, and breathed in relief.

Suddenly, the cart came to an abrupt stop, and shouting erupted from the head of the line. Sasuke swiftly drew his sword, crouching behind a box, ready to attack. Sakura let out a squeak of fear, covering her face. The door to the cart opened, throwing light over the figure of Sasuke, ready to pounce.

"What are you doing?" asked Kakashi, having entered the cart. Sasuke breathed out a sigh of relief, but then glared at the innocent-looking bodyguard.

"What's happening?" Sasuke asked urgently.

"It looks like Zabuza is making his move." Kakashi replied casually.

"Why are you acting like that's not a problem?" the prince spluttered.

"Oh, it is a problem. There are far too many soldiers there for us to fight." He shrugged at them. "Now we just have to hope we are not recognised, and taken for part of the innocent troupe."

The shouts of the soldiers in the distance were slightly clearer now, as the fighting got nearer.

"…Don't let…"

"…He has –"

"…Are getting away!"

The sounds of fighting were close, but soon got further away as apparently the two tried to escape. Footsteps sounded around their cart, and more shouting surrounded them. Ino appeared in the door of the cart, flanked by two soldiers.

"Please exit the cart," one said, "all members of the group are to be taken into custody, and the carts thoroughly searched." Kakashi nodded to the other three, and they slowly jumped down, surveying the area.

In every direction, soldiers hurried about, going to all of the carts, shouting orders at the terrified entertainers. The rain had finally stopped, an eerie fog surrounding the group. One of the soldiers, an officer judging by the uniform, came up to them, and ordered them to hand over any weapons. After they had complied, the officer ordered them searched.

Sasuke went slightly red with humiliation and annoyance. Never in his life had he been searched, and here he was, the Prince of Thunder, being searched by some lowly soldier. When they were satisfied, the officer ordered their hands tied, and Sasuke suppressed his anger at the treatment. When this was done, the officer waved them to follow him, and several soldiers accompanied them.

"As a precaution, all of you will be arrested and questioned regarding the criminal activity shown by some of your company. Do I care if you are innocent, or if this inconveniences you? No. If you don't do as we say, you will be executed." Sakura and Naruto instantly paled, and Sasuke cursed under his breath. He didn't like this treatment, or the officer's attitude. If it weren't for the circumstances, it would be that guy executed, Sasuke thought angrily. Of course, this was instead a rather complicated situation.

All he could do was hope that they were not recognised. After this, he certainly wasn't in the mood for a reunion with his brother.

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Naruto had never been in a prison. He'd heard tales, seen pictures, and had an image in his mind, but it was rather different to experience it first hand. Kakashi had said that it wasn't a normal prison, instead one originally designed for captured prisoners of war when they fought the Fire country. It was not so much a prison, as a bunch of cages. Rather similar to those used to kept animals – except in these cages, the occupants were chained to a wall.

He decided he didn't like prisons. Although, he reflected, it did put life in perspective.

The rest in the large cell jumped in surprised as Naruto snorted in laughter at himself, and then all stared at him as if he was crazy. However, none felt like saying anything, wrapped up in their own thoughts about been locked up in a cold and empty room with nothing to eat or drink. Needless to say, none were thinking pleasant thoughts.

Naruto attempted to start a conversation up, mostly relating to ramen, and was ignored completely. The next half a day was spent in what Kakashi described as 'biding their time'. Naturally, Naruto fell to sleep rather quickly on the cool ground.

He was awakened by the sound of keys shaking, and looked out the bars to see a guard unlocking the door. Naruto sat up hopefully, his stomach yearning for something to eat. The guard looked at each of them turn, and they looked back dumbly. He scratched his head, and Naruto noted that although he looked young, the man had light grey hair. He had no time to ponder this as the guard fixed his eyes on Sasuke. He drew a small sword cautiously, and unlocked the chains binding the prince.

"I have been ordered to take you to my superior. Please follow me." Sasuke glanced at the sword appraisingly, before following the guard from the cell, and the door was locked behind them.

"This is bad," Kakashi growled as the two left the corridor. "In fact, it couldn't get any worse."

"You think they've found us out?" Naruto asked worriedly. The silver-haired man nodded gravely, and cursed himself for letting this happen.

A few minutes of silence passed, and Sakura's quiet sobs were all that could be heard. Naruto watched her sadly. He had barely considered how this experience was affecting her.

The silence was broken by footsteps from outside the cell, and Naruto looked up hopefully – but it was just the patrolling guard. She passed by the cell wearily rubbing her eyes, and began to walk away. Abruptly, the footsteps stopped as the guard spun around, and looked frantically around the cell. Naruto raised his head in confusion as she called out for another guard.

"Where is the other one?" she demanded of them, which was met with bewildered stares. The other guard rushed into the corridor, and she turned to him. "One of the prisoners has escaped, raise the alarm!" Kakashi and Ino exchanged a glance, and watched the commotion unfolding with an increasing sense of foreboding.

The situation had just got a lot worse.


End file.
